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JOHNSON COUNTY 
ARKANSAS 



THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS 



ELLA MOLLOY LANGFORD 






Published December, 1921 

By ELLA MOLLOY LANGFORD 

Copyright Applied for. 



Sallis, Threadgill & Sallis, Printers 
Clarksville, Arkansas 

M IS 1922 

©CI.A677573 



PREFACE 

The realization of the need for a record, or history, of Johnson 
County was thrust upon me some half dozen years ago when I 
had been solicited by a collector of state history to furnish a brief 
from Johnson County. In my endeavor to comply with that 
request, I found that I had encountered a rather difficult task. 
Many persons knew much in a vague sort of fashion, but facts 
were few. And the old settlers, from whom one could have ob- 
tained them, were gone beyond recall. 

I inquired and found no one inclined to undertake a similar 
work, therefore, I imposed the task upon myself. I was born in 
Johnson County, and I feel that it.s hi.story belongs to me and my 
children. 

Many worthy and highly esteemed persons have doubtless 
not been given a proper place in this book, but the facts have 
been gathered, a bit here and a bit there, covering a space of 
several years, and I assure you, any omission was from lack of 
knowledge. 

Especially have I endeavored to deal with persons and events 
as much as possible up to the year 1880, and their relatioaship 
to the present. Biographies have been my principal stumbling 
block. Sometimes I almost weakened in that endeavor, lest 
they should not be accurate in every detail. Yet, to posterity, 
nothing in this little volume will be more interesting, nor of 
more value. I could only give these themes in part, nothing- 
more was at hand. They were taken from old sketches given 
by the settlers themselves, to some publication, or from booster 
editions of newspapers, or from verbal speech from some mem- 
ber of the families. 

From necessity, some facts herein have been taken from 
other volumes, but not without privilege first being obtained from 
those concerned. 

I am indebted to many persons for their assistance in 
various ways. I must place extra stress upon the untiring 
patience of Mr. J. V. Hughes, Sr., for my consultation to his store 
of knowledge was indeed frequent. Also, Hons. Robert Gray, G. 
T. Cazort, E. T. McConneil, W. D. Allnutt, J. R. Cazort, V. Howell, 
J. M. Laster, T C. Jarnigan, Dr. John Lothers, Mrs. W. Dodge, 
Mrs. J. A. Carter, Mrs. J. H. Jamison and Miss Ethel Srygley. 
Also the following who have passed to the Great Beyond since 
my work was begun: Capt. W. H. McConneil, Hon. D. N. Clark, 
Mrs. Lucy M. Mears, Mrs. Rachel Butts and many others who have 
contributed, both living and dead. Thus I submit this Volume 
to you, my friends — you of whom I would rather have written, 
because you are of my life, but that was not my object. That 
work must be left for someone in the future. And may you accept 
this in the same sincere spirit' in whicli I present it to you. 
Cordially your friend, 

ELLA MOLLOY LANGFORD. 



The Story of It's People 




Many years ago. in this wild unsettled west, 

Where grasses, seldom trod, grew upon earth's breast, 

A rippling brook flowed swiftly down 

Through the canebreak, cataract bound; 

The song-bird twittered and warbled low; 

A ra^""'--^ Rnake glided and slided slow, 

Out from the rift of an old fallen tree; 

The wild beast awoke and wandered the lea, 

A spreading forest, a tangled way, 

With smiling sunbeams there to play, 

Mid the jungle's rustle, where winds came to tease 

The flowers and trees with a laughing breeze; 

Blending blossoms faced the sun each day, 

Ungathered and unnoticed, save along the way 

Came an Indian maid, an Arkansa true. 

Gathered and shook from the petals the dew. 

Thus a scene in a forest far away — 

The Caucasian knew not his possession one day. 



Indian arrow-points once found l)y the hundreds, but now 
seldom chanced upon, a few fast fathng chiseled markings, and 
a now limited number of grave mounds almost flattened by time 
and tide, are all the records left l)y a i)rimitive people to the 
present habitation of this country. A few of the old settlers, for 
few are left, tell posterity that this or that is an Indian graveyard. 
A graveyard indeed — for Inuied underneath that soil,as also in the 
silent pages of a long forgotten past, is an unwritten history: 
A history of a life, with love and ties of human kindness; of wars 
and warriors, and struggles for existence; of sadness, and sorrow, 
and death, flits across the mind of civilization, as a myth and a 
dream: A dream that is romantic and beautiful because of the 
uncertainty of its outline, yet a dream of a past that is funda- 
mentally true. 



8 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

In the incipieiicy of a country it is noteworthy that every 
immigrant comes for a reason, primarily a material one — the 
seeking of a fortune or a home, or perchance, someone desirous 
of adventure. Nevertheless, whatever may be their interest, few 
persons ever knew of anyone immigrating to make history, yet 
they begin the making of it as soon as civilization learns of their 
movements. 

Thai the Arkansa tribes of Indians were scattered over this 
vast territory, west from the Mississippi River, is a fact stated by 
the general historians. When white men first began to pass up 
and down the main water course of the State, the Arkansas 
River, it is known that the Osages, a wild, wandering tribe, were 
in possession of the terra-incognito north of the river, while the 
more peaceable and constructive Quapaws were on the south. 
Therefore, white "squatters" and adventurers first began to come 
and to settle among the latter tribes. 

That Spain claimed the country of the red-man or that iJi 
turn France called it her own, mattered not to the Indian. No I 
until a few generations had passed did this primitive people un- 
derstand or conceive the idea of the buying and selling of lands. 
When a tribe decided to locate in a countrj^ that was not held by 
the clans of another tribe, that territory was theirs undisputed, to 
hold as their own as long as they desired, or perchance, until 
another tribe drove them out in warfare. 

Thus, not until the United States purchased the Louisiana 
Territory and the Cherokees were granted permission to occupy 
the country north of the "Upper Arkansas", from the east bound- 
ary of the present Pope county extending west to a line north and 
south in the vicinity of Van Buren in Crawford County, did the 
Osages relinquish their hold here and the more civilized and in- 
telligent Cherokees come. This grant, given by the United 
States Government in 1812, permitted this pre-eminent tribe of 
Indians to form a territory on the "Upper Arkansas", known as 
"The Arkansas Cherokees", or "The Cherokee Nation West." 
Other tribes who held neighboring nations at that time were the 
Sac, Kickapoos and Fox Indians. Along with the Cherokees 
came a few white persons, and then, while much was not kept, 
the records began. 



THE INDIANS 9 

Almost immediately after the settling of these Indians in tlieir 
new homes, the OsaiJies, who had been moved by the Government 
to the territory west of the Cherokee country, and who felt that 
the Cherokees had taken their hunting grounds, at once declared 
v;ar on the latter tribe, a war which was carried on at intervals 
for many years, with the Osages always the aggressors and the 
Cherokees always eventually the victors. 

In 1819, following the formation of the Arkansas Territory, 
this Nation of the Cherokees was declared a county, known as 
Crawford. 

In 1820, almost simultaneously came Col. Matthew Lyon, 
the Government Indian Commissioner, wlio establislied his post on 
Spadra Bluff at the mouth of Spadra Creek, and Rev. Cephas 
Washburn, with a party of missionaries, who located five miles 
up stream from the Arkansas River on Illinois Bayou in Pope 
county, three miles east from the present boundary of Johnson. 
Col. Lyon, although seventy years of age, was an active and val- 
able man to the service, a man eminently fitted for his work with 



Foot X'ote — Mathew Lyon was boin in Ireland, educated in Dublin and 
was also an apprentice to the trade of printer in that city. He came to 
America while he was yet in his teens, where he worked for several years as 
a day laborer, the first four of which he was bound out for his passage acros': 
the Atlantic, a method for transportation much practiced both in England and 
America at that time. As a reward for his labors, coupled with his dogrnatic 
tenacity of purpose and his God given superintelligence, he finally became one 
of the strongest men in America. In the Revolutionary War he rose from 
the rank of Lieutenant to the position of Colonel. 

In the early days of Vermont he went into the ^voods of Rutland county 
and established a saw mill, grist mill, paper mill and forge, and a country 
store, and it was thus that Fairhaven, Vermont was begun. He later published 
a paper called "Fairhaven Gazette." From this press he issued sever.il books, 
among- them was "The Life of Franklin." 

Fairhaven was represented by him in the Vermont Legislature for ten 
consecutive terms. He was the Judge of the Rutland County Court for some 
time and after Vermont was admitted to the Union as a state he was elected 
for several successive terms to the congress of the United States. His second 
wife was the daughter of a Governor of Vermont. 

When Thomas Jefferson was running- for President the first time, it is 
said that when a deciding- vote was taken in Congress, Mr. Lyon cast the one 
needed to elect. A tie vote had previously been the result of the general 
election. 

In the vicissitudes of the years that followed, this man of strength and 
much success, was the victim of an opposition filled with unpleasantness and 
disappointments. Being still of a strong pioneering aptitude, he decided to 
again try a new country. Therefore in 1801, following his last term in Con- 
gress, he started with his family, and many other families of Fairhaven, in 
■wagons, to seek a new home in another wilderness. When this party of im- 



10 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

the Indians, as was fully realized by President Monroe, who made 
the appointment. A young man, Capt. J. S. Rogers, was sent 
with Col. Lyon as an interpreter. 

Col. Lyon had determined to make his home in Arkansas, 
and six months after his arrival at Spadra Bluff he declared him- 
self for Congress in opposition to Woodson Bates. The election 
was held on Aug. 6, 1821, with Mr. Bates the victor. The num- 
ber of votes cast in the nine counties was 2101, with a majority 
vote of 61. Crawford County polled 87 votes, Mr. Bates rt>ceiving 
;)3 and Col. Lyon 34. Col. Lyon contested the count and sent out 
a circular in which he set forth well-founded reasons for his ac- 
tion. The second decision again gave the majority to Mr. Bates. 
Being an undaunted and fearless fighter. Col. Lyon would 
undoubtedly have been heard from later, but he was taken ill 
soon after this, an illness from which he did not recover. 

The Missionaries on Illinois Bayou came to their post in the 
Spring of 1820. They w^rc under the patronage of the Presby- 
terian American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 
The members of the party who entered the wilderness of 
Arkansas, and labored for months before the coming of others, 
were Rev. Cephas Washburn, wife and one child. Rev. Alfred 



migrants reached the Ohio river at Pittsburg, they secured flat boats and 
floated down stream to the Cumberland and thence into the jungles of 
Kentucky. When they came to a beautiful place where there was a large 
spring they made anchor and disembarked. The little village of Eddyville 
was soon realized, following the usual initiativeness of Col. Lyon. His was 
the first printing press in that state. He went many terms to the Legislature 
ol Kentucky and served both as President of the Senate and Speaker of the 
House. Lyon County, Kentucky, was named in his honor. He spent six 
years in Congress again, this time representing the state of Kentucky. At 
the expiration of his last term tliere. he was appointed to his Post in the 
Arkansas Territory. 

After having- spent more than a year at Spadra Bluff, Col. Lyon made a 
trip by boat to New Orleans. He began the descent in February of 1822. He 
carried with him for market, hides of buffalos, deer and bears, furs, cotton. 
Venison, hatns tallow, beeswax and honey. On the return trip he was loaded 
with a 1400 pound cotton gin and many necessities for barter, but when he 
reached White river he had to leave his load until a rise of the waters, there- 
fore, he took passage up the Mississiijpi and visited his family in Kentuel-cy. 
When he returned to Spadra in June he was accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. 
Griffie, who were to look after his comforts, and "Aunt Lena", a negro cook. 

Col. Lyon became ill in July and died August 1, 1822. The Missionaries 
fi-om Dwight hastened to his bedside, and also officiated at his funeral. 

Col. Lyon felt that he could not recover, and knew that at some time 
his, body would be exhumed and removed to Kentucky, therefore he requested 



THE INDIANS 11 

Finney, wife and one child, and Miss Minerva Wasliburn, who 
later married James Orr. Mrs. Finney and Miss Washburn were 
sisters of Rev. Washburn. 

Rev. Washburn and parly reached Little Rock on July 3rd, 
v.here Rev. Waslibuni ])reached the first sermon ever delivered 
at that place. 

The unanimous consent of tlie In(Han FJiiefs of the Cherokee 
Nation i>ave the Missionaries permission to select their own lo- 
cation for the Mission, hence the place on the Bayou was chosen. 
Ihe Mission was known as Dwii^ht's Mission, named in honor of 
President Dwi^ht of Yale. The Mission Board also appointed 
Jacob Hitchcock and James Orr, mechanics, to join this party. 
They came from Ne\\ England to Pittsbm'i>" by wagon and then 
Ijy flat boat up th - Arkansas. 

The following ([notations are co])ied from the o!d diary of 
th > Missionaries: 

"The site selected was a wilderness. The first tree was felled on the 
:25th of Autjust. Since that time we have cleared an encloso'-l with a sub- 
stantia' fencs about 20 acres, much of which is improved. We have also 
elected four cabins of hewn logs for dwelling houses; two of which are 20 
feet square .with piazzas on two sides, and two are 18 by L'2 with ]3iazzas on one 
side. The school house, 24 by 36 ft., is neatly cfinsti-ucted on the .Lancaster- 
ian ]jlan, and designed to accommodate 100 children. A considerable part 
of the work is done for a dining hall and kitchen. Aside from what has been 
mentioned, we ha\e built a corn crib and stable, and ha^'e cleared and fenced 
a garden, yard, etc. The property at iiresent belonging to the establishment 
consists ijrincipally of stock and farming- equipment — three horses, two yoke 
of oxen, ten cows and calves, between 30 and 40 head of swine, two \vagon.>, 
one cart and jjlough." 

•• * * * Bro. (Jrr rode out for the purpose of pui-chasing oxen and ti-an^^- 
acting other business up Sjiadra Creek. * * * •• 

* * * Bro. Orr returned; had a safe ride and successful journey. He had 
an interview with the I'. S. factor, Col. M. Lyon, and with the interpreter, Capt. 
J. S. Rogers, and found them and others fortified and fortifying a.gainst attacks 
from the Osages. Our friends at the north have doubtless learned the fact, 
the Osages and Cherokees are at wai- with each other." * * * 

that a coffin be made double ,of hardwood timber, one box containing the 
other with the vacuum between filled with lime. The inside box carefull./ 
lined with beaten lead. 

Thus this man of eni-rgy and ability — gentle and sympathetic by nature 

positive, yet refractoi-y in character — sometimes down l)ut never out — and 

always ready to forgive and forget, was laid to sleep on the l)luff by the river 
af Spadra. 

In 1830 his body was taken back and placed in the family vault at Kddy- 
ville. Four thousand people attended this funeral, at which Rev. Johnson, a 
Methodist minister of Nashville. Tennessee, officiated. The Masonic Lodge of 
Eddyville, in full regalia, conferred upon his burial all the honor of their 



f2 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The Missionaries had puhhc worship for the first time on 
Sunday, May 13, 1821. Four or five Cherokees were present, but 
tliey could not understand, as they had no interpreter. There 
were also a goodly number of white persons and some negroes 
from the settlements on the south of the river. 

On December 22, 1821, other persons arrived to labor in 
tliis field and to make up the final number at the Mission. They 
were Ara Hitchcock, Misses Ellen Stetson and Nancy Brown. 
Daniel Hitchcock, a fourth member of the party, was left by the 
wayside quite ill, where later he died. 

AYhile this little band was cnroute, they came to a swollen 
stream and were forced to camp for five days without food. 
Finally when they could ford the streani, an Indian Squaw took 
tliem into her hul and, in the manner of her Indian kowledge, 
began to resuscitate them. First, she gave each of them a 
small portion of dry bear meat every hour for twelve hours. At 
the expiration of this time she had prepared a sumptuous meal. 
She had removed the rind from a large pumpkin, which she 
placed on the hard earth floor, so that the peeled part took up the 
dirt. She then took beans with which there were sticks and 
other trash, and eight pounds of fat bear meat, five inches thick, 
and i)ut the whole into an earthen pot and boiled it for two 
hours. This concoction was then poured into a w'ooden bowl 
and her visitors were invited to cat. All objectionable ingredi- 
ents were forgotten as full justice was executed upon the viands. 
The Indians used wooden or horn spoons, usually those made 
froni buffalo horns. A squaw possessed but one knife, the one 
for carving, and no forks at all. 

The school opened January 1, 1822. Eighteen Cherokee 
children represented the beginning of this Old D wight Mission. 

ceremony. Before the deposit into the valut was made, the family and many 
friends were so placed that immediately when the coffin lid was lifted his 
face could be seen. It was for this he had planned his casket of lime and 
lead. For a brief minute his features were natural as life — then before their 
very eyes, as Lot's wife turned to salt, he crumbled to dust. 

For long- year.s the sunken spot where they laid him at Spadra Bluff was 
pointed out, but now a century has passed and the changes of time have felled 
Ihe forest trees and leveled the grave mounds of that old burying ground, and 
the populace of today sees nothing there but a cultivated field. But by a 
T.ault in Eddyville. Kentucky, a citizenship will sometimes stop and recount, 
at least some event in the part Matthew Lyon played in the pioneering days of 
fiis adopted country. 



THE INDIANS 1^ 

which was moved when the Cherokees ai^aiii wen I west, and to- 
day stands on an incHne twelve miles from the Arkansas river on 
the west bank of Sallisaw Creek, and represents one of Oklaho- 
ma's oldest institutions which has harbored and educated thous- 
ands of boys and girls durini^ the past century. 

In Mr. Washburn's "Reminiscences of the Indians" we 
find the names of the following Cherokee Chiefs on the Arkansas: 
I'a-kah-to-kuh, the high chief of the nation; Blackcoat, John 
.lolly. Major Maw. Geoi-ge Morris, John Rogers, James Rogers, 
Hlack Fox, Dick Flowers and George Guest. 

The High Priest of the Cherokees was Dik-Keh. The Indians 
called liim Dik-Keli, the Just, and the white settlers, "Dick 
Justice". The next in |)riesth(K)d in the veneration of the jxopLe 
was Ta-ka-e-tuh. 

These Indians believed in one God and many ghosts. Mr, 
^^'ashburn said that their system differed only circumstantially 
from that of the Rible, and that their belief in (Unions was con- 
sistent with Monotheism. Their eternal i)unishnunt was i)lanne() 
to be a series of extremes. Th-? condemntd would find his suf- 
ferings, first from the cold of biting frost and again from the 
torrid heat of a summer sun without shelter. Sometimes a 
plunge into cold water, tli.n again in scalding water. And when 
he asked foi* drink, molten lead would be given to him. If he 
lay down. serj)ents would bile him; if he walked, 'twas on red- 
hot iron. "No friendship, no pity, hatred eternal." 

An Ir.dian whose name was Blanket and who was a brother 
of Ta-ka-e-tuh. told Mr. Washburn thai the first man was red, 
ha\ing i;cen mad:' from red soil. He said after he was finished 
the Great Spirit discovered that he talked too much and thought 
too little, therefore he cut out a pari of his tongue and from that 
part mad ■ a woman. After this was done, the man thought 
more and said k ss, in accord with the desire of the Great S|)irit. 
bul [he ^v()m in lie had mad.' from that piece of a t«iigue, chat- 
t( ;ed uU the lime. And for that reason, he said, woman was 
given all the drudgery and work to do, so that she woidd hv too 
tired to gad about and gossip. Ta-ka-e-tuh said that they de- 
scended from Abraham and that Ihey worshiped one God, sub- 
mitted to him, trusted, feared, and jirayed. He said that Idol 
worshipers were fools. 



14 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The marriage ceremony was quite iini(|iie. Mr. Washburn 
said that after the spot for the occasion was selected and the hour 
for the ceremony arrived, the mother of the groom came and 
brought a bhinket and a leg of venison, and the mother of the 
bride, a blanket and an ear of corn. The contracting couple were 
]iiade to stand any distance from thirty to sixty feet apart, from 
vdiich they advanced to a common center, where the blanket? 
lay with the gifts on them. The brave and his squaw then went 
away, each holding an end of the blankets. The ceremony meant, 
"He, meat: she, bread: same btd." Thus came the aphorism 
"The dividing of the blankets." 

Shee-leh was an Indian word for witchcraft. Mr. Wash- 
burn said that "superstition through these malignant beings was 
tlu' prolific parent of much cruelty and crime." Anyone who 
thos ' could be a witch. The offense of witchcraft was consid- 
ertd a capital crime, therefore no trial was necessary. When 
an Indian wished to be rid of his wife, he said she was a witch 
and killed her. Finally, merging slowly into the divine scheme 
of justice, they decided that to take life for accused witchcraft 
was murder, and a law was i)asscd to administer one hundred 
lashes on the l)arj back for such a nefarious act. Therefore 
the practic was soon suppressed. 

Considering the Indian Medicine Men, Mr. Washburn said: 
"No peopi:> suffered more from materia medica, as well as 
charact ristics of disease, than (he Indians. They who followed 
the healing art,, or in their own parlance were 'big medicines', 
were nure conjurers. A more worthless, lazy, rascally set of ig- 
norant deceivers never practiced upon the gullibility of poor 
humans." Yet the closeness of the Indians to nature and ncces- 
.'ary s. If-relianc- had taught them much as a whole. In a few 
])ractices they w;re somewhat proficient. 

Again, to quote Mr. Washburn, "The Indians had patience, 
fortitude and courage, with respect for old age. and affection be- 
l\\, en minbers of their family." To be black was considered 
by them a stigma caused by lying, cowardice or murder. 
Nevertheless, one of their most influential chiefs, Ta-kah-to-kuh, 
liad a black face, but of a Grecian model, and he was said to be 
of su|). r-intelligcnce. "When interested, his eyes sent forth 
scintillations of most magnificent thought." He scored a li<S 



THE 1X1)1 AXS 15 

and was failliful to the iTlii>i()us ceremony of his trihc\ He 
tailed the Missionaries, "breeches" or "pantaloon party." It was 
with Ta-kah-to-kuh that Mr. Washburn smoked the pipe of 
peace. This chief had always avoided the lan-tah-ous-keh, 
Ch'iok.e for Missionai'it s, i)iit when one day he was in 
Wal Weber's cabin and Mr. Washburn entered the door 
instead of endeavoring to escape, he took up his pipe and filled 
it with la-lo-neh ((h'ied leaves of the sumach of tobacco) and 
puffed a bit hims.'lf, then passed it to the interpreter and then to 
Mr. Washburn, after which he clasped Mr. Washburn's hand and 
said "We are friends forever." He often visited the mission 
after that, but ridiculed many of their methods. He became in- 
terested in astronomy and many of their teachings, but refused 
to accept their religion, saying, "Like the sun down there above 
the horizon, I shall go down to night and death — it is too late." 
It was Chief Ta-kah-to-kuh who refused to make peace with 
the Osages, and for that reason thi- war with them went on for 
a long time. The Cherokees, he said, had listened to their i)leas 
several times and had signed as many treaties. But on each 
occasion the Osages had broken faith by beginning war again. 
Once when the Cherokee Chiefs were returning from such a 
meeting they were waylaid by the Osages and some of Ihem 
murdered, therefore Chief Ta-kah-to-kuh said that they w, re liars 
and there should be no peace. 

At this continual warfare, the government became much 
concerned. But this old Chief turned a deaf ear to the pleadings, 
not only of lb > Osages, but the Cherokees and the gONernment 
agents as well. Finaly an Indian, persuasive and conciliatory of 
voice, whose name was Chih-kil-lehs, was employed to speak at 
a gathering, which was not supposed to be in any way bearing on 
the war, therefore Chief Ta-kah-to-kuh attended. With the 
deftness of an artist his discourse drifted to the subjecl of the 
war, and with i)athos of eloquence he depicted the suffering and 
death ther.from. It touched the heart of Chief Ta-kah-to-kuh. 
and he signed the treaty. The next day he told Mr. Washburn 
that he should not have done so, saying that it was the act of a 
woman. 

Many of the Cherokees were still in Arkansas in 1832. even 
though the treaty for lands in the Indian Territory had been 



16 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

granted in 1828 and "belonged sacredly to the Indians as long 
as grass shall grow and waters run". But within a few years 
they were gone from the Arkansas Country — all gone — and now 
nine decades have passed and almost every trace of them is gone. 
And those sturdy woodsmen too, who forged their way into the 
wilderness of this Indian country, are gone. Yet, compared with 
the ages, it has been but a day of time, and the populace of tln' 
present are but the "Early pioneers." 

An old Rock-House, how old no one knows, ages perhaps, 
ff>r nature in the forming left it there, is jutting in the hillside 
at 'h( crest of the little mountain of Stillwell, eleven miles up 
from iliC river, and almost directly north seven miles from 
Clarksville. The formation of the mountain at this place is in 
tlie curve of a horse shoe with this wigwam shaped rock in the 
ceiiter of the curve, facing the east. From the peak, this solid 
rock spreads and drops in waves a hundred feet to the two grotto 
entrances. Thesi^ two compartments are separated by a column 
of solid circular stone. Inside of one of the rooms is a mortar 
down in the stone floor, j)erhaps twelve inches deep, the place 
\\hL're the Squaw pounded her corn. On the walls, ])rotected 
from the wear of the weather, are clearly chiseled figures of birds, 
reptiles, frogs, et cetera. 

Down the hill two hundred feet away a spring of chalybeate 
water flows the year round. And at the foot of the incline, not 
man}' rods removed, laves Spadra Creek around the hill. Thus 
it would seem that the plan of the "Great Spirit" was to provide 
a place of comfort and safety for some chosen clan of liis primi- 
tive children. 

In the same neighborhootl with the Rock House is another 
interesting formation, known as Wolf's Glen. This is located 
three miles to the east on Redlick mountain. Wolf's Glen is 
one of the local sight seeing spots, with gorges and glens, an 
ideal place for wolves, bears or wild cats in the days gone by. A 
story that there was an old Indian lead mine in this locality, has 
come down for three or four generations. It was said that 
Indians usid to bring lead bullets down Spadra Creek and sell 
them. Many individuals have at times endeavored to locate the 
spot, if ther(> be one, but nothing concerted was ever done, and 
no one now gives credence to the story. But an interesting 



THE INDIANS 17 

phenomenon oeciirred north of the entrance of Woh's Glen about 
the time of the CaUfornia Earthquake in April, 190G — no one 
knows tlie exact time, for no one was there, but a circle cover- 
ing one-third of an acre of the surface soil dropped three feet, 
leaving a terrace of broken earth around. Many persons who 
chanced to go there saw this but no one seemed curious, nor was 
any explanation ever made. 

For seventy-five years after llie Indians were gone, arrow 
points of all sizes and kinds could l)e found in many places in the 
county. Especially were they numerous north and south of 
Clarksville along the banks of Spadra, thus giving silent evi- 
dence that the placL> was an old battle ground. 

Dr. John Lothers whose home is two miles east of Lamar, 
is a centenarian and he remembers many of the Indians by 
name, among them Chief Geo. Guest, whose village was at 
Spadra. He remembers, when a child, that he visited Spadra 
a number of times with his father, and many Indians were there. 
He said he used to watch the Indian Squaws pound their corn 
in the mortars for the making of bread. The mortar was made 
by scooping a hole in a hard wood stump or in a large stone. 
They were ten or twelve inches deep, in the shai)e of a well, and 
measured six or eight inches in diameter. The corn was put into 
this and pounded with a pestle. The pestle was made from a 
limb of a "quick growth post-oak". The larger end was charred, 
and then made smooth by a sandpapering process, only they used 
the real sand or some rough surface available in the forest. 
When the pestle was smooth and of oval shape, to conform with 
the bottom of the mortar, it was ready for use. They made a 
sieve from cane (which grew in al^undance along the creeks and 
low places), and witli this they separated the pulverized meal 
from the luisks. 

Dr. John Lothers was the son of Dr. Jesse Lothers. They 
were among Clarksville's first citizens and physicians. 

Mrs Polly Ward, mother of A. F. Ward and Mrs. Effie 
Dunlap of Clarksville and Mrs. Elmina Garrett of Ft. Gibson, 
Oklahoma, and who is ninety-eight 3'ears of age, came to John- 
son county with her father. William Collins, when a child. They 
came by boat to Spadra and. from there went across the Mulberry 
Mountain on pack mules by way of Indian trails. They settled 



18 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

on Mulberry Creek and many Indians were their neighbors. 
Chief Charley White-Eye was often at their house and was some- 
times a guest at dinner. 

The late Mrs. Lucy Brashears Meers, of Clarksville, was born 
in a little Indian hut, surrounded by a plum-tree thicket on 
Horsi'head Creek, almost a hundred years ago. Her father, Jesse 
Brashears, gave an Indian a horse and saddle for his squatter's 
claim to the humble home. 

David Ward secured property one mile south of Clarksville in 
1828, from an Indian whose name was Key. It was at this place on 
the west bank of Spadra Creek that a clan was located, the Clan 
of Chief John Jolly, In this village, it is said, that Gen Sam 
Houston, the Governor of Tennessee, the liberator of Texas, and 
the governor of Texas, et cetera, and his Indian wife, Tahlihina, 
spent a year. Rev. Anderson Cox, the father of Mrs. Volney 
Howell, told Mr. and Mrs. Howell that this was true, and other 
persons of integrity whose assertions cannot be doubted, have as- 
sured that Sam Houston came from Tennessee when he resigned 
as Governor, to the Cherokees West on the Arkansas. His- 
torians state that he went v.est of Arkansas to the Cherokee Na- 
tion where he spent three or four years, before going to Texas in 
1832. Notwithstanding the Cherokees were granted land in the 
Territory in 1828, we find from many sources that a large number 
of them were still in Arkansas in 1832. The Missionaries did 
not move Dwight Mission until that year. Mr. Washburn said 
the Cherokees were still in Arkansas in 1832. Gen. Houston 
doubtless went with old Chief Jolly and his niece, Tahlihina 
Rogers, who was an orphan and the daughter of James Rogers, 
and the Indian wife of Gen. Houston, to Webber Falls, where he 
and his life time friend, old Chief Jolly, went into business to- 
gether. A story beautiful enough for fiction relates that Gen. 
Houston did not leave the Cherokees and go to Texas, where his 
great life-work lay, until he, broken hearted, had buried Tahlihina. 

From a newspaper story, told back In the eighties by one Judge Brewer, 
a grayhalred Cherokee, and published at Tahlequah, Indian Territory, and 
from other articles given the caption of Sam Houston, the following story 
is gathered: 

Sam Houston was born in Virginia in March of 1793. In childhood he 
was left fatherless. His mother removed to east Tennessee, where they lived 
neighbors to the Cherokee Indians. Samuel was fond of the Indians. He 
attended school with thein and became attached to one little girl, whose name 



THE INDIANS 19 

John Houston, a relalivt- of Sainiiel, came to Johnson county also 
and died here, leavinii a family wliosc descendants are residents 
of the county at this time. 

On the east of Sj)a(ira (jeek from Chief Jolly's village, was 
their hurying ground. Tliis grave yard, even after fifty years, 
was of some proportion, but tli:' tides of time have flattened 
many of the mounds and tiie plow of pi'ogress has turned under 
the soil many more, tlierefore today hut few are left. This 
necropolis, across the stream from the hahitat of the Indian, is 
typical of their suspicion, true to their apothei>;n — that from 
across the water th^' spii-its of tlie dead cannot come back and 
torture the living. 



was Tahlihina Rogrer.s. He assisttd her with her lessons and she was his 
apt pupil. But finally the day came when Samuel was sent away to College. 
While he was gone the Cherokees moved to Arkansas. His course was 
finished, but in school lie had made new friends, and among- them Gen. Andrew 
Jackson. He fought under this old hero and was greatly esteemed by liim. 
After practicing' law for a time, Samuel Houston was elected to Congress and 
served two terms. Then from that body he was transferred by vote of the 
people, to the gubernatorial chair. AVhile in that position he married a lady 
of beauty and accomplishment, and no young man in the country seemed so 
clearly on his way to highest honors. But the scene changed, the clouds 
did not gather in warning — tliey cann' as a thunderbolt, for on the day 
of that brilliant wedding they separated. It is said that she confessed 
her love for another, and he having married iier because of her fitness as a 
wife for his career, did not jjossess that lover's attribute to foigive. He re- 
signed his high position and withdrew from his home and from Tennessee. 
Up the Arkansas river, we are told, he came, finding his way to Spadra Bluff 
and thence up the creek to the village of Old Chief John Jolly. Chief Jolly 
was the uncle of Tahlihina and had kept her in his home since she became 
an orphan in early childhood . When evening came and the clan gathered 
around, Tahlihina saw the handsome stranger and he was introduced as 
Sam Houston, she timidly offered her hand, and as their eyes met. he inquired: 
"Tahlihina, do you know me?" With a faint smile on her lips she softly 
answered: "I once knew you, a long time ago." Then she slipped away, and 
that was the last she said to him for many weeks. Tahlihina had read in 
the newspapers of the great man that he had become and the beautiful 
woman who was his wife. When she could, she always avoided meeting him, 
and if by chance she came face to face with him, she hastened away. As 
time passed on the old Chief, her uncle, began to inquire as to the length 
of Houston's visit. Then the Chief was told that he did not expect to return 
to Tennessee ,noi- to his wife . He later wrote Mrs. Houston, advising her to 
secure a divorce. This, she was said to have done, and then married the man 
of her choice. After this Tahlihina softened a bit, and became friendlier 
toward the man whom she had always loved. Tahlihina was said to have 
been a fair maiden, whom providence had endowed with a rich transparent 
beauty, peculiar to the mi.xture of Caucasian and Indian blood. Her locks 
were of flowing black, and her movements were agile and graceful. Her 
mark was true and her shot was sure. She possessed a great feminine nature 
within. Yet, without, in the face of danger, she was unafraid. 

Whether Gov. Houston and Tahlihina were married in Arkansas or after 



20 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Mrs. Rachtl Butts remembered when a child that the grave 
of Chief Bull Frog was marked conspicuously by a ladder reach- 
ing from the head of the grave upright into space, that the spirit 
of Uie Chief might thereby be guided in the right direction to 
ihc happy lumting ground. Bull Frog Valley in Pope county, 
received its name from the leader of the Bull Frog clan. 

Abraham Laster, one of the county's representative citizens 
of pioneer days, purchased an Indian Council-house on lower 
rlorsoJiead. He detached the door and took it to his i)lace up 
the creek, at Harmony. Today that door, tliough i)erhaps a hun- 
dred years old, is the one which J. M. Laster, a son of Abraham, 
uses at the entrance of his smoke-house. There is nothing un- 
usur.l about it except it is hand phuud, and the nails are !lie old 
four sid'^d kind, or "cut nails". The liinges are quile large On 
the inside, })ro[ectc'd from the weath.r the preservation is perfect, 

they removed to a point near Webber Palls, I. T.. is not clear. Rev. Cox said 
that Sam Houston and his Indian wife, Tahlihina. lived on Spadra for a year. 
Col. J. S. Houston, a distant relative of Samuel, said that he hunted along- 
the river in Johnson county. Others said he was here for a while. Historians 
say he was west of Arkansas, and true, later he was, but also he was west 
on the Arkansas. The majority number of the Cherokees did not leave 
Arkansas until 1S32. Therefore, sometime between the time of Samuel Hous- 
ton's arrival in 1S28 and the above date. Chief John Jolly and his clan removed 
to Webber Falls, for it was there that the Chief and Governor Houston went 
into a partnership store. Tahlihina was a helper in this business. 
They were married, and Gov. Houston luiilt a little hut. crude and pic- 
turesque, at the foot of the hills near Webbei- Falls, secluded and out of the 
way among- sumac bushes, black jack, and cottonwoods, and a brook, clear 
and rippling flowed only a few paces be.Nond. There they lived and were 
happy for one brief year. And it is reported that Samuel Houston on more 
than one occasion said that he would not exchange his life there for the 
presidency of the United States, nor for the wealth of millions. But on one 
day Tahlihina was taken ill, her husband was away at Fort Gibson. On his 
return she did not recognize him, nor did she ever again, for Tahlihina died. 
He buried her by the side of the stream. (which later was christened 
"Tahlihina"). and left a stone to mark the spot. And on that stone Was 
chiseled, "Tahlihina Sleeps Here." 

It was then, that this gentleman with handsome physique, commanding- 
mien, and great executive ability, left the Cherokees and went to Texas, and 
his great lifework. Only two years later he was made Commander-in-chief 
of the Army of Texas, which he eventually lead to victory. He was twice 
elected the president of Texas, and later, when that country became a state 
of the Republic, he was for twelve year.s a Senator to the National Capital. 
Many honors conferred upon this great man are not mentioned here — but they 
belongs to the history of Texas. 

General Houston married the last time. :Miss Blargaret Moffit Lea of Ala- 
bama, in 1840. They were the parents of eight children. General Houston 
died in 1863. 

In after years the body of Tahlihina was e.\humed and moved to the 
National Cemetery at Ft. Gibson, where a marble stone tells, in part, her story. 



THE INDIANS 21 

bjl the outside that has faced the summers' suns and winters' 
snows, is porous, much Hke a sponge and can he chipped off in 
bits, being quite brittle. 

At one time the Osages, Kickapoos, Foxes and Sac Indians 
were all at war with the Cherokees and Chief Red Fox of the 
Sacs is said to have been killed in the vicinity of where Knox- 
ville now stands. 

One Indian cemetery was north of Lee Springs near Spadra 
Creek. In that cedar thicket a number of graves are still visible. 

On Horschead Creek another burying ground, while aban- 
doned is still plainly visible. It has been said that a Chief of 
some renown was buried here and his friends built to his honor 
a monument in the shape of a wide plank fastened to an upright 
scaffold, on which were written his deeds of valor. 

For many years Indians came back to Arkansas, some to hunt, 
some to care for the graves of the dead, and for many other 
reasons. Some of them were friends to the white settlers. As 
late as forty years ago a squad of them returned and spent one 
night at the cemetery south of Clarksville. They built a camp- 
fire and danced and sang and maneuvered after the fashion of 
a ceremony unknown to the persons who watched them from 
across the creek some distance away. 

But no Indians come back any more, for none are left who 
feel a tie of sentiment or friendship. They are gone, and strange 
to say, there is doubtless not one place, nor one stream in John- 
son County that bears the nomenclature of their euphonic tongue. 



THE PIONEERS 

The Osages, who held the territory of Northeast Arkansas 
prior to the coming of the Cherokees, were a nomadic and wild 
tribe of Indians, therefore no white persons ventured to live 
among them. Nor during the period extending from 1813 to 
1828, when tlie "Upper Arkansas" was tlie Cherokee Nation, did 
many white persons come. No lands could be claimed by any 
but the Indians ant! therefore only a few hunters or adventurers 
cared to come. Mr. Washburn mentioned settlers McCall and 
McBec. one or two others and a few half-breeds. But with no 
degree of certainty can the orthography or dates of the arrival 
of white persons before 1828 be given. But as soon as the 
Cherokees were granted a nation in the Indian Territory and this 
country was opened for settlement the influx began. For the 
first half dozen years before the day of tlie steam boats on the 
Arkansas when the river must be ascended in a Keel-boat, wiiich 
meant much labor and many difficulties, and when there w^ere no 
roads at all, tlie accession was not so rapid. But it is safe to say 
that the number of i)ersons w^ho had previously visited this prime- 
val forest were sufficient to spread tliL' news of the splendid op- 
portunities here, for a surprising number came and brought their 
families as early as 1828. Not even half of them, can 
be traced back so far. But we do learn with mor or less 
accuracy that the following persons were here: Wesley Garrett, 
William Collins, Thomas and Phillips Madden, David and 
Augustus M. Ward, Geo. L. Lemon, L. N. Clark, J. L. Cravens, 
James Wilson, and Abraham and Aaron Clark. Hon. James 
Wilson. Esq., Avas said to be a reporter for the Gazette as early 
as 1828. 

Within the next two years two dozen or more names have 
been recorded in one way or another: Rufus C. Sadler, Joseph 
Jinkins, Jesse Brashears, Hugh Gilbert, Abraham Smith, Joseph 
James, Finas Williams. James Shepard, Win. D. Reed, Abraham 
and Fredrick Laster, Ray Mash, Jack Rollins, John Arbrough, 
Webster McCalister, Wm. Baskin and Daniel Conner. Most of 
the above pioneers took out land grants. In the list of the first 



THE PIONEERS 23 

grants given in the old records, the names of two women appear, 
Rachel Crawford, 1829 and Nancy Roberts, 1830. 

Many settlers did not secure the grants to their claims as 
early as they would have done, on account of the nearest office 
being located at Fayetteville. To go there necessitated a long, 
hazardous trip over mountain trails, fraught with many diffi- 
culties and dangers. 

Gen. Albert Pike, one of Arkansas' first citizens, distin- 
guished poet and statesman, taught school in a log cabin on Piney 
Creek, while he resided at the home of Abraham Smith in 1833. 
The names of Thomas Marnie, Gabriel Christman and James 
McKinney have sifted through the years, as it were, as early 
"school masters.". Few of the pedagogues made their homes 
here or even elsewhere. They usually arrived in a neighbor- 
hood, solicited subscriptions for a school, and when the term was 
over passed on to another i)oint, and so on through the country. 
Even though of a nomadic class, most of those early instructors 
are reputed to have been honorable, and in most instances gave 
satisfaction. 

During the first few decades after this country was opened 
for settlement more immigrants came from Tennessee than any 
other state. However, Kentucky, Virginia and the Carolinas 
were well represented. And in a proportionate pro-rata all the 
other states of the East and North gave to tliis new state a citi- 
zenship. 

By the time Arkansas was admitted into the Union in 1836, 
Johnson County had been founded, cabins were not so far apart, 
and forest trees had been felled and fields put into cultivation. 
Communities were forming tlu^mselves together in a geniality of 
spirit, organizing churches, lodges, politics, etc. 

The territorial county seat was Si)adra, or Spadra Rluff, 
as it was called while located east of the creek. It was here that 
most of the immigrants landed. However the confluence of each 
of the smaller streams of the county attracted a goodly number. 

Steam boats were now taking the place of the old keel-boats 
of a decade before. The Tom Bowlin, commanded by Capt. J. 
Smith, and the William Parsons were pljing the Arkansas river 
as early as 1835. The James O'Hare, commanded by Capt. 
Stewart, was another of the earlv steamers. 



24 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

A representative number of the first settlers came over land 
but with the slow progress of the oxen, the marshy roads and 
swollen streams, with uncertain weather, made this mode of travel 
quite tedious and often hazardous. And many times there were 
no roads at all, the traveler would have to widen the trail with 
his hand ax in order to proceed. A double team of mules or 
horses could not be used through the country as the oxen were. 
The oxen, slow and patient, would work their way with cloven 
feet over places where the horse and mule would sink too deep 
for progress. However, the "pack mule" was quite dependable 
and could follow the trailways without much difficulty. This 
method was resorted to by not a few of those sturdy woodsmen. 
Often if there were not enough mules to carry the household 
effects and the family too, the family followed the mules on foot. 

The most comfortable and satisfactory mode of traveling, 
and the one bj^ which the majority came, was in the wonderful 
new boats then being made — a boat manipulated by steam and 
one that could easily go up stream as well as down. One family 
or more, as they chose, would occupy a small room on the boat. 
Each family furnished their own beds and cooked their own 
meals. The Tom Boland, after many successful and profitable 
trips up the Arkansas, was finally wrecked beyond repair on a 
shoal in the river not very far from Spadra. 

Spadra Bluff, Pittsburg at the mouth of Cabin Creek, and 
Morrison's Bluff were the three popular landing places. 

Every l)oat brought immigrants. Usually some relative or 
friend who knew of the possible arrival of the new-comers, would 
meet them with a conveyance. The most pretentious of these 
carriages was a two wheeled cart drawn by oxen — a safe and 
sure way, for almost without fail the passengers were thus de- 
livered safely to their destination. In other cases, especially be- 
fore so many roadways were cut the faithful pack-mule followed 
up the trail. Whatever was the way they came, it really 
mattered not, since some friendly cabin in the forest was opened 
to them with genuine welcome. Alongside of each humble 
home were one or two fields, fenced with rails, cut from the trees 
in this forest and put up in rick-rack fashion. A few of these 
old rail fences are still standing, but the time is not far distant 



THE PIONEERS 25 

when they will be gone entirely. This primitive folk had never 
heard of the modern wire fences, nor even of fenceless districts. 
But they were progressing, nevertheless, for already some of the 
wealthier citizens were building houses of lumber cut by saw 
mills. As many as a half dozen such buildings were in the 
county as early as 1837, and machinery to separate the staple 
from the seed of the cotton, called a "Cotton Gin", had proved a 
success, and the old method — the long and tedious way of picking 
the seed from the lint by hand, was past. 

Grist mills too, made to grind the corn, were indeed an ini,- 
provement over the small hand mills for home grinding, to say 
nothing of the wonderful progress over the primitive way, used 
by the Cherokees, of pounding their grain with mortar and pestle. 
The first grist mills were the water power kind. Hugh GillDcrt 
was the owner of one on Piney Creek as early as 1833. J. W. 
Patrick, near that same period, built one on upper Spadra Creek. 
The old mill-race, the deep ditch by the side of the creek, which 
turned the rush of the waters direct against the big wheel of this 
mill, is visible today. Wiley Harris also had a grist mill on 
Piney sometime in the late thirties. Other niills of the same na- 
ture were built inland and run by horsepower. The grinding 
was done cheaper if the customer furnished the horses. This 
mill was built with two levers fifteen or twenty feet in length. 
To each end of these, horses were hitched to turn the mill. The 
water-grinders, however, had more power and before saw-mills 
were introduced for cutting lumber for flooring, doors, etc. to 
these mills were attached sash-saws. These saws were manipu- 
lated by two men. They were identical in construction as the 
gang-saw of today used for cutting marble. The old sash-saw 
was a single process, while the gang-saw is, as the word implies, 
used in "gangs" and will cut several stones at once. 

As early as 1840, Abraham Clark was operating a saw mill 
at the confluence of Piney Creek. 

When an early immigrant appeared at one of the landing 
points, his first thought was to find some level acres of land near 
a spring of water, if possible, on which to build his home and 
grow his crops. With a virgin forest everywhere he had not. 
far to go to find logs with which to build his cabin. These logs 
were usually hewn, or in other words, cut so that they were flat 



26 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

on four sides. The openings between the logs were filled with 
wet earth. Sometimes the "womenfolk^" pasted newspapers 
on the walls to add to the cleanliness and beauty of the home. The 
large fireplaces were inside of chimneys of considerable pro- 
portions. Sometimes the early chimneys were built up by stack- 
ing small logs in a square, slighty shaped, to make the flue, and 
then covering the whole with a mud, usually made from clay. 
But Johnson county had few of this kind for stones are generally 
plentiful and therefore some splendid chimneys built in those 
days are still in excellent condition. At this time there are a 
number of old log houses standing, but they are fast disappearing. 
^Yitllin the next few decades they will be gone entirely. There 
were no stoves and wood was the only fuel. No other fuel was 
needed, for all the wood anyone could want was within reach of 
e\ ery family's door. In most cases two rooms were built to the 
house and some times more, but usually two chimneys were put 
up. 01'/,' for the "front room" and one for cooking in the kitchen. 
There were great hooks hanging from a fastening in the flue of 
the kitchen fireplace, on whicli to swing the pots. The squaw 
had her earthen jjots, but the white settlers those of iron. The 
house-wife also had a skillet with foiu' little legs and a heavy iron 
lid for the baking of bread. Potatoes were baked in hot ashes 
and sometimes eggs were too. These large fireplaces were 
usually built vaulted at the top, witli high mantles above. Bed- 
time for this folk was soon after dark. The light from the fire 
was often the only light for the room. When another light was 
needed, tallow, previously rendered, in which was inserted platted 
strips of cloth, was quite satisfactory. However, almost every 
woman had candle molds and made the real candles from tallow 
and beeswax. These pioneers of Johnson county and Arkansas 
at large, were living very much like the rest of the country. 
Candles were the only lights known in the United States until 
1826, when for the first time kerosene was used for lighting pur- 
poses. For a long time that was looked upon as unsafe, and 
many years passed before it was universally used. 

Matches were not a necessity, in fad the old oxymuriate and 
lucifer matches were not very satisfactory any way. Therefore 
iiince the phosphorus combinations were not discovered until 
1834, these far inland settlers did not feel the need of them. But 



THE PIONEERS 27 

snug away somewhere in the deep ashes of the fire-place werfe 
liidden some Uve coals. But if by chance the fire all went out^ 
it was necessary sometimes to start a spark again by the use of 
flint, but more often some one hastened to a neighbor's house 
and "borrowed fire", and neighbors were not next door either in 
those days, tlicj^ were often a mile or two apart. 

Almost evei'y piece of furniture in those houses was mad^ 
at home. Tables, buckets, churns, churn-dashers, bedsteads, 
chairs, and brooms. The chairs were the old split bot- 
tom kind, which means that the seat of the chair was interwoven 
with splits rived from clear white oak. The brooms were made 
from broom corn grown at home. The dishes were almost 
always brought along from their former homes and were many 
limes of beautiful design and English makes. Pewter (hshes were 
given to children, for service. 

The most comfortable possession of the liouse-wife was her 
wonderful feather bed^ feathers taken off the geese of her own 
flock. They did not have bed springs, but often strands of rope 
were interwoven lUKk^rneath the straw mattress ,, which was sup- 
plemented by the feather bed. Her quilts or comfortal)les, were 
\aricolored and beautifully hand pieced and neatly ([uilled. Her 
blankets were all wool and hand made. And the old counter- 
panes of that period were often of artistic designs, showing 
deftness and efficiency in thought and workmanshi|). 

In the evenings by the light of the fire, while llu' husband 
smoked his pipe and rested from the day's work, or a hunt in the 
forest, the wife carded wool or cotton to make it ready to spin into 
thread. Or sometimes she knitted stockings or socks, for the 
woman must needs clothe her household. Before the wool or 
cotton was carded it had been thoroughly washed in soap and 
water. The soaj) was also a home product. It was made by 
filling a barrel with wood ashes, slightly tilting tlu' barrel aiul 
pouring water onto the ashes. The h^e which drained from the 
barrel was put into the wash pot with many meat skins and 
cracklings and boiled. When strained this made an excellent 
soap. 

After the lint was carded the woman spim it into thread on 
a home-made spinning wheel. After [hv thread was hanked 
she dyed it if she wished colors. Into the woods she went and 



28 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

gathered bark or roots or blossoms, and boiled each to itself or 
mixed them according to the shade desired. Some of the colors 
were quite satisfactory. For black she usually dyed with a 
strong walnut hull or walnut bark liquid. This also in a weaker 
solution made a beautiful brown. The chinquapin and the oaks 
made shades of brown; pine bark, purple; dandelion, yellow; 
indigo, blue; and certain varieties of grass, green. When the 
coloring was finished she wove the cloth on her loom, which was 
also made by hand and was probably the most complicated me- 
chanism of their possession. After the cloth had been 
woven and much wear had worn the garments beyond repair, 
again they were torn into strips and rolled into balls. These 
strips were then used as the warp crossed by a woof of home- 
woven thread and thus a "rag-carpet" was made. Every wom- 
an did not possess a carpet loom, but there was always one near 
enough for every woman to have a carpet woven if she cared to 
do so. 

The farmers' cattle and hogs, branded with his private mark, 
were tiu'ned loose on the range. Every family also kept sheep, 
for wool. Much of the wearing apparel was made of wool. He 
grew his own tobacco and sugar cane. All the varieties of 
fruit and vegetables were possible. One of the necessities that 
always follow a pioneering settlement were the tanneries, for 
the preparation of hides. 

J. C. Harris operated a tannery on Little Spadra Creek two 
miles west of Clarksville, for a long number of years. The old 
shed with some paraphernalia connected with the manipulation 
of the tannery, stood by the side of the "Wire road" even into the 
eighties of the past century. 

Thus these progenitors were the most independent people in 
(he world. Not only were they the producers and consumers 
bu! manufacturers as well. There were ven,' few articles they 
had to secure from the outside. Salt was probably of the most 
vital essential. Nails were a necessity. Peruvian bark was also 
much needed for the cure of inter-mittent fever. Coffee and rice 
were outside products. Sugar, oranges, lemons and spices were 
luxuries in which they sometimes indulged. To purchase these 
articles the settler took his cotton, corn, hides, beeswax or furs, 
or whatever wares he might have, to the trading points on the 



THE PIONEERS 29 

river and sold lluin. Oilcn however he sold his cotton to the 
ginner, who not only operated the cotton i»in hnt was a cotton 
merchant as well. Two or three carding factories too, were 
soon ()i)erat((l in the county, thus eliminating the former hand 
process of hatting the wool and cotton. 

The foregoing kaleid<)sc()i)ic review of the first settlers of 
this county is idtiitically a counterpart of the early settlers of all 
other states. Many of these incomers had left homes of refine- 
ment and plenty, hut the inconvenience of travel made it impos- 
sible to attempt the bringing along of only the necessities . But 
after the steam boats were past the experimental stage and the 
channel of the river was known more accurately, more steamers 
made trips jx'riodically, and also in the years 1836-37 a highway 
was through the country between Little Rock and Ft. Smith, 
Stage lines were being operated in 1837, and Arkansas was now 
quite uj) to date for the whole of the United States was webbed 
by only stage lines and steam boats. The first locomotive was 
operated ovLr one short line of railroad in 1829. The first horse 
railroad in 1826-27. The years following this, esi)L>cialIy the 
beginning of the forties, projjress v,'as more rapid. Not only did 
immigrants come daily, but many of them brought their negro 
slaves. 

Abraham Clark was now doing a rushing business at his 
saw mill on Piney. for frame houses were often built. Many 
of them commodious, sonif^ of them two stories high. The old 
"Lee Place" at the Lee Spring, built by Cater Lee, and which is 
standing today, still the property of the Lee family, must have 
been, some eighty years ago, a pretentious home. The hand 
carved and beaded mantles, hand made moldings et cetera, attest 
the ambition and achievement of one of taste and culture. The 
old home of Samuel Adams on Piney, still standing, was a well 
finished house for its dav. Manv others have Ikvu torn away. 
Thev did not stand the test of time as well as the ones of logs, 
and besides there were many more log ones. 

Witli the beginning of this ])eriod large fields wer;' clear-d, 
lands were drained and plantation life began in many quarters. 
The "Master and Missus in the big house" and the negroes in the 
cabins. Young Misses singing in the parlor, old aunti:- hum- 
ming in Jie kitchen, for the strains of Annie Laurie or Nellie Gray 



30 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

were sounding from the mahogany melodeon, brought from back 
in Kentucky or Virginia. Or perchance it was a piano with four 
big legs and a flat top, made somewhere in France. There was 
also a Brussels carpet with large red roses, and tufted chairs 
covered with beautiful sUck black hair-cloth. Brass andirons 
and candle sticks, even if the candles were made at home. The 
dining room and kitchen were sometimes in the yard back of 
the main house. In the dining room there was a side-board 
with some china and silverware about. And hid away in some 
compartment, was a demi-John or perchance it was no demi- 
john, but a real big jug of whisky of some sort. 

Tli'sc' jugs were a part of almost e.very home however 
h'unble. l^ractically every man took his "dram" each morn- 
ing. Why shouldn't he, his father did, and in fact it was prac- 
tically a universal habit. A Temperance Society had been or- 
ganized in Saratoga, New York as early as 1808, but the emi- 
gr;>nts lo Johnson county probably had not heard about it. And 
if they had it was given no credence, for such an organization was 
merely a fanaticism and they had never a fear that it would suc- 
ceed. They wore not M'rong either, so far as that generation was 
concerned, for a century passed before that infant society grew to 
proportions which overspread the whole Nation. Nor would 
those sturdy progenitors ever have dreamed, nor would 
they have understood the vernacular if they had, that at a future 
day some of their alien succ:^ssors would grow so proficient as to 
bott'e "moon-shine" and "boot-leg" it around lo the "topers". 

As early as 1830 little stores had been oi)ened and a few 
nee ssi!i s and fewer luxuries were kept in stock. Some gro- 
ceries, chinaware and farm implements were carried. Jeans, 
a goods for men's clothing, which clothing was made by hand, 
as wei'e all garments in Hint aae and the agLs 1)( f ore, as for that 
matter, for Eli as Howe, Jr., did not patent his first complete 
sewing macliine until 1840. Linsey was an all wool, mill made 
dr.ss goods. Cotton checks was a cheap cloth, but the calicos 
v/ere varigated and beautiful. Every woman was delighted to 
posst ss a calico frock. There were some cashmer-s. Silks and 
velvets Wirt brought on in small quantities and used generally 
for I'inimings. However there were some silk dresses especial- 
ly at weddings and other state occasions. There were no toilet 



THE PIONEERS 31 

articles on sale in those stores, or elsewhere, for that matter. 
The belles of that aijie possessed a small jar or tin of home-ren- 
dered tallow for chapped hands and lips, and a store-bought box 
of "whitening" or "chalk" for their comi)lexion. No respectable 
woman would have dared "paint" her checks. When she went 
out of tlie house, her face was protected snugly under a bonnet 
or a veil, and thick gloves covered her hands. 

Johnson County, as all other new countries, was more or less 
a world of itself, so slight was the communication with the out- 
side. Few papers were received and letters were difficult to get. 
There were no envelopes and letters were often delivered by hand, 
weeks or months after they were written. Those people who 
were in direct touch with the stage line were shghtly more for- 
tunate. Envelop;^'s were not used in the United States until 1839. 
The mucilage on stamps did not always contain adhesive quality 
enough to hold them on. They were often lost off. It took 
twenty-five cents to bring a letter from Tennessee to Arkansas. 
But, Oh ! how welcome was the occasion. 

For a number of years after the statehood of Arkansas and 
the location of the county seat, Spadra was still the heading town. 
Many houses and huts constituted the river landing village, with 
a hotel standing two stories high, a commodious Inn, for that 
day. - But all are gone now — no trace of a town east of the creek. 
Coal was discovered near the corner of Elijah Bettice AUston's 
house in the early forties. In 1844 a Frenchman whose name 
was Procta opened a mine and sent the coal on barges down 
the river. The coal was taken from a cropping on the east 
bank of the creek, thus forming a slope as it dip])ed back into the 
earth. It was known as the Spadra Creek Mines. The place 
where the original opening was made may still be found. 



CLARKSVILLE 

Following the statehood of Arkansas in 1836, an election 
was held to select commissioners, whose duty it would be to de- 
cide upon a location for a county seat. The three men chosen 
were Abraham Laster, Elijah Bettice Alston and Lorenza N. 
Clark, The meetings to determine a location were held in the 
store of Mr. Alston at Spadra. Hon. James Cravens, whose 
farm was four miles up Sjiadra Creek, where there were num- 
erous pure water springs and excellent well water possible, was 
ready and desirous to deed a plot some one-fourth mile square 
to tiie new town, in order to locate it on his property. Mr. 
Taster \vas the only one of the commissioners who was favor- 
able to the proposition of Mr. Cravens, for Mr. Alston knew that 
Spadra, the territoral county seat, and the largest town in the 
county, was the only place to consider, even though the water 
was paluted more or less by the underlying coal, while Mr. Clark 
would vote only for his home town, Morrison's Bluff. 

After repeated efforts, and each man wisely saw that no 
decission would be reached, with their triangled opinions, Mr. 
Taster sought a solution by proposing to Mr. Clark, stating that 
should he, Mr. Clark, agree to vote for the Cravens' location, 
that he, Mr. Laster, would vote to name the town Clarksville. 
And thus it was settled. 

Three other gentlemen were commissioned to plot and lay 
out the lots and also to sell them. Handed down by verbal 
record is a story of diverse opinions as to the exact spot. We 
hear that Maj. John Ward was an ardent advocate for an East 
Hill location. Someone else thought the old Dunning place, 
west of Clarksville's cemetery should be favored, but Mr. Cravens 
wished to live in the town and did not wish to move to it. He 
gave the acreage and his location was finally accepted. 

The surveyors were soon at work and a square of some one- 
fourth mile was blocked out Avith streets and alleys, etc — much 
out of proportion for present day needs. But no wonder, for 
the town was then but a field and a forest. 




.SAAiriOL AOAMS' H(y.\riO ox cabin rUEKK — 18:',5 — AS IT IS TODAY 
(tnce a suli-statimi for the old st.'i-ie line. 



SS^^ 




ThcsmAii foom At tht risht Was th€ Sheriffdoms 



Fiio^r A ^^l■:MlHl^' miiawixc v.y \v. \>. allxttt 



CLARKSVILLE 33 

The location was not entirely satisfactory to the majority of 
the people, for the general opinion was that one of the river 
towns should have been chosen. 

Spadra, Morrison's Bluff and Pittsburg conceded nothing. 
They were growing and thriving, and several years passed before 
Clarksville was much more than a wide place in the road and 
a court house. 

The new steam boats that began to ply the Arkansas in the 
late thirties gave much prestige to the river towns, and each 
hamlet gained confidence and was rapidly growing. 

It was sometime immediately prior to the forties that Seth J. 
Howell built a Card Batting Factory at Pittsburg, and until today 
one chimney of that old factory is standing. Suffice if to say, 
that Mr. Howell at least had confidence in this town location. 

No one feared the rivalry of Clarksville. But wdio could 
tell, — or who did tell — what the coming years would bring. Nor 
did Clarksville supersede her rival, Spadra, for a long time. 
And only when the Iron Mountain railroad came through 
Clarksville did it have more than a few hundred souls. 

Following the location of the town, a year had passed 
and not one tree had been felled. Apprehension began to 
be felt even among the most sanguine, and it was decided that 
at once the Court House should be er cted. Ere long, some 
mill in the county was busy sawing up the native timbers 
for a -commodious building, for the time. Back a hundred 
yards south from the east and west highway, this lumber was 
hauled. The field was cleared off, some trees were cut down, 
and soon, in its embryo, a town was begun. With this nucleus 
in the center of a square, the custom of the day, little houses 
began to be built from the abundance of timber all about, north, 
east, south and west. "Dad" Smith was one of the first citizens. 
He built a little log store, back about fifty feet from the street 
on the identical location of the Palace Drug Store. Mr. Smith 
called this his grocery store, but soon its true colors were 
flaunted and it was given the appellation of "Dad" Smith's 
Saloon. But why not, everybody kept whiskey and almost every 
man sometimes went on a "spree". It was the fashion. Moreau 
Rose moved in from his place one mile west and built the first 
frame business house ever put up in the town. His residence 
was then built back of the store facing Main street. The 



34 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

store was on the south eorner of Main and HuUum (Fulton) 
streets. 

Tlie county officers then moved near the central building 
and thus, of slow growth, the little county seat struggled forward. 

But the big two-story log hotel, which stood on the 
highest point overlooking the river at Spadra Bluff, was far 
more popular and lucrative than the new one Gabriel Payne had 
built on the north side of Main Street, a hundred yards or more 
west from the crossing of the creek. This was a two-story house 
too, after the fashion of logs and mud. It was here that a 
station for the Little Rock-Springfield stage line was made. 
Coming up from Little Rock, which at that time was merely a 
village also, the next station east of Clarksville was Dover, and 
on the west there was one at Swaggerty's store on Horsehead 
Creek. 

The blast of the horn announced the approach of the 
stage, and at its sound everybody was brought to attention. 
Much anticipation was speculated upon, as to the new arrivals 
and the news they might bring. Almost, but not quite the same 
as the old town criers of long ago. 

In the year 1837, in an humble little home on the south side 
of Main Street, up from the creek two hundred yards, Hon. R. 
A. Rogers was born. Mr. Rogers is today a resident of Clarks- 
ville and is very feeble. His father, John Rogers, had a black- 
smith and repair shop across the street next to the Payne hotel, 
and on a lot that has been occupied bj- a shop of that nature to 
the present time. 

Dr. Jesse Lolhers and his son. Dr. John Lothers, had an 
office for their drugs, et cetera, on the east side of the square. 
Anthony Lewis built a saw mill on the south side where the 
Methodist church now stands, and Labon C. Howell put up a 
tannery down by the creek. Thomas Powers built a log resi- 
dence of some proportions on Main Street back one hundred feet 
on the two lots next west from the Dunlap block. This old 
house stood until five years ago. 

Augustus M. Ward's first home in Clarksville was located 
next to the railroad, immechately east of J. H. Jamison's residence, 
and which would be designated today, should the street run out 
that far, as on Central Ave. 



CLARKSVILLK 35 

The humble hul, built more thau eii»hty years ago by An- 
thony Lewis, is |)erhai)s the only one of the many of that date 
standing today. Now Mr. Lewis did not wish to be loo elose to 
the busy streets, so in- ehose a lot beyond the town limits. 
This old house, wilii an outside eoat of hunbir and an inside coat 
of paper, stands today, on Taylor street, otherwise unchanged. 

In September of Ihi' present year win n ihe old residence 
known as the Mears property, on West Sevier street, was torn 
away, a quaint little hut was uncovered. The old hand-hewn 
logs and the mud chinked walls and the little front door, caused 
one standing today in the midst of modern homes, to sense the 
feeling that a curtain iiad been lifted, thereby revealing some 
secret of the past. And the mental vision went farther still, for 
with that picture one could almost see the sturdy woodsman stooj) 
to come out from the tloor. or i)erchance an Indian emerge with 
war-paint, feathers and a blanket. 

Across the street from this place was another log house, a 
larger one, with a big fire])laee between, and an ufjstairs too. But 
many, many more could be nuntioned that still linger in the 
memory of some older jjersons, but they served their [)urpose and 
are gone — gone beyond the irresistible march of civilization, 
which destroys but to build again. 

To hasten on. when the early forties came. Dr. William 
Gray had moved to the town and occupied a residence which 
stood immediately soufii of the i)resent Methodist church. Dr. 
McConnell also had moved from Pittsburg and built a two-story 
double log house on tlie southeast corner of Main and Cravens. 
These logs were cut from the forest of his back-door yard. The 
McConnell Drug Store Nxas a lower room immediately on the cor- 
ner. One little office stood south of that on Cravens street and that 
was all. On the soutli of the square and the east corner of the 
block was Bradford's law office, then next west was the Bat- 
son property, and across Central avenue Ijicck from the corner 
west a few feet, was the little frame Methodist church built in 
1844, while on the other corner Anthony Lewis was operating 
his saw mill. To the south on the west side of the square 
was George Scott's residence, and there were no other buildings 
between that and the Rose store on the other corner. 

Down Main street, beginning west, Jarrett's Drug Store 
stood on the northwest corner of Main and Hotlum (Fulton), 



36 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

and across the street east to the west corner of the block north 
of the square, was the Jake Rogers Store (where Laser's store 
now stands). Next, a few feet away, was John F. Hill's tailor 
shop, then came "Dad" Smith's saloon, and across Central Ave. 
w^as the store of R. H. Brown, and next was "The Good Idea 
Saloon", then Powers Bros., and on the east corner, (the same as 
Hill's Drug Store) was Swigart's. Across Cravens, on the 
other corner, was Hershey's and farther down was Payne's Hotel 
and the Rogers shop. That was all, except just back of the 
Brown store ^yas a little room, where the first printing press 
was installed, and a little jail was also standing with a high 
picket fence around it on the cast side of the block on the south of 
the square. A bridge had also, by this time, been built across 
Spadra, by Olinvcr Basliam and others. The old covered-over 
kind — long and dark. The piers built at that. time are the ones 
used today. 

James Woodson Bates was said to have been a Land Reg- 
ister in Clarksville in the early days. 

The friendship which was said to have existed through life 
between Gen Thomas J. Churchill and Judge James Wilson, was 
begun also back in the thirties. 

The Mexican War came on and the country was all astir. 
Two companies were organized in Johnson County and Col. 
William Gray was in command of them, and also one company 
from Pope county. Mrs. Polly Collins Swaggcrty Ward, who is 
ninety-seven years old, is doubtless the only living person who 
saw those soldiers go on their way. She was Mrs. Swaggerty 
then, and a bride. The celebration prior to the march west- 
ward was held at the Swaggerty place on Horsehead Creek. 

With the decade covering the life of the fifties came an un- 
equalcd prosperity. Almost every family had slaves — faithful, 
affable servants. And they too had a life which is a story of 
itself. The o])limism of their African blood, with the assurance 
that food was plentiful and a shelter was sure, made theni happy 
too. Each negro "gal" was sure her "Missus" was the finest in 
the land. And the male members enjoyed a social bent all 
their own. And, as a whole, they were content. But the war 
came on — perhaps inevitable, sooner or later, and perhaps it is 
better so. 



CLARKSVILLE 37 

Bill the life of the fifties can never be duplicated. There 
were carriages of state, and servants for every call. Parties 
grand were given and the youth did not know much of toil. 
Brick kilns were now stationed about Clarksville and a luuiiber 
of store buildings of this type were replacing the logs and lumber. . 
Moreaii Rose was again one of the first to initiate the new. 
But his store building of that day, on the corner of West Main 
and Hullum, was torn away in the eighties and the present one, 
occupied by the Mercantile Company, was built. Another was 
the John W. May store, now owned by Sam Laser. The old 
building of Col. John F. Hill is today occupied by Lewis & 
Williams. A. M. Ward erected a handsome home on the brow 
of the hill, now replaced by the College of the Ozarks, and 
Jacob Rogers another, the one remodeled and now occupied by 
R. S. Davis and family. The Presbyterian church on the south- 
east corner of Cherry and Cravens, is, in part, the one that was 
built in the fifties. The Methodist congregation had almost com- 
pleted one, which was burned during the war, that stood on the 
south side of the square next to Fulton Street. The same lot 
is covered today by a church of that denomination. 

The Methodists and Presbyterians were represented in goodly 
numbers in the town, and over the county at large. They held 
regular meetings on regular days and Sunday School always on 
Sunday'. There were no accessory organizations — no auxil- 
iaries. The minister had full sway, with the counsel of his lay- 
men . Women served in silence. But they were content, they 
asked no more. As late as 1873 a woman lecturer, a Presby- 
terian, gave an address in Clarksville and the county paper of the 
time criticized her severely.. 

When a funeral procession started with its slow tread to- 
ward a burying ground, some church bell began to toll out its 
lonosom^^ tones and ended only when the body was deposited into 
Ih- grave. And this custom continued until the latter days of 
the past century. A large number of the earHest settlers of 
ClarksviHe and vicinity were buriLxl at the Lee gravej-ard north 
of the town. And today, if one would know who the old set- 
tl rs weT-e, a visit to one of the cemeteries where the only mark 
of 'hose o'd fathers having lived, so far as the eye can see, is 
th'^ir names written there. 



38 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The Civil War came with much doubt, fear and misgiving, 
and yet a dogmatic hope strengthened bj- tliat patriotic beUef in 
an early termination. Calls were made for young men and they 
came flocking in, companies were formed, and excitement pre- 
vailed. Young women were busy sewing. Flags were made 
of silk, for silk only was good enough for those sons of an 
established autocracy. Young ladies presented them in public 
addresses, brave hearts carried them away. Many troths were 
made at the parting. Some were consummated later but many 
wore broken by the shot and shell of war. And too, a large 
number at the very first encounter, at Oak Hill. Then the days 
grew dark, bushwhackers began to |)rowl. and wonien were 
afraid. Somebody's house was burned almost every night, and 
sometimes women's feet were charred because of the refusal of 
some unreasonable refpiest. 

General Churchill and his men wintered the season of '62-'63 
down near the old Spadra site. This was a delight to their 
fiiends. But in the spring they went on their way to war. 
Finally a Federal Regiment came and established a post in 
Clarksville. 

Cruelties in Ihc town were not so frecjuent then, but those 
over the countj- at large were still ruinous and devastating. Food 
was taken and maoy went hungry — fires, fires, every night, soon 
left an army of homeless. Old men and ministers were taken out 
and shot. There was one case that will not be forgotten in 
Johnson County for many generations. It was said that a 
minister, without offensi', was stood up beside a tree, while 
several men stepped off a few i)aces and riddhd him with bullets. 
A young son stood by, and in his childish heart took a solemn 
vow to avenge that heinous deed. The war ended but that vow 
was unbroken, and, men began to die. No one seemed to know 
why, but one by one, 'tis said, llic lad cut them down. Finally 
he was found out and then he too was luuited. He was the 
hunter and the hunted. But as long as he was at large by swish 
of shot those men continued to drop. Finally he grew desperate 
and if anyone gave fDffense, 'tis said, they too were included in his 
retribution. 

Terror reigned m the hearts of women and children for this 
lad was now a man mu\ his offenders were not all dead. Finallv 



CLARKSVILLE 39 

al'tor many had fallen by his hand, he paid Ihe price on the 
i>allo\vs. But many who committed crime went free. 

For a reason unknown, one mother was taken from her 
babies and sent down the river to Little Rock and placed in jail. 
Her four small children, the baby but three years old, were left 
to wander about — no one to care for them and the winter was 
cold. Finally after six weeks, she was allei^ed to have promised 
to return to jail if permitted to go to her children and make their 
clothes ready for the cold winter. She went, but she did not 
return, nor was she forced ai*ain. 

These extreme cases are but two of many, not unlike those 
committed all o\qv the invadctl country, or any country overrun 
by an enemy. 

The nii>ht came when General Fai*an's army was reported 
approaching with much strength in men and guns. The Federal 
post was abandoned at once. All they could not take with them 
was bm-ned. They started well the flames to their comnnssaries 
and went on their way, but someone lingered behind, for presently 
many buildings were ablaze. 

Not a man nor boy over twelve was in the town, but the 
women forgot their sex, forgot that they were not accustomed 
to toil. They fought the flames and extinguished many. A 
few hours more and the Confederates came. No one slept that 
night, for excitement was high. The following day this army 
was on its waj'. And after a time the Federals returned. Thus, 
with the vicessitudes of conflict, the year«-passed. 

At last the end came — somehow it always does. 

THE AFTERMATH 

Then came the aftermath, bitter as quassia. The spirit of sanguinity with 
which the land was imbued in the beginning- had passed out through the 
channels of doubt, fear, suspicion and reality. Death was all about, friends 
and Trergiibors were pitted against each other. The dead could not return, 
they alone were at peace. The maimed in mind and body came back — 
to what? A devastated country filled with unscrupulous men and unruly 
negroes. Men from the enemy lines were in the seats of the high, and 
negroes were in office. The old Master and Missus had learned to toil with 
their hands, and their heads were bowed. Churches v/ere burned, and 
ministers dead, and children cried for bread. 

The spirit of the conqueror had more easily softened tlian the spirit of 
the conquered, and he was content to dwell in the places of the enemy. Young- 
girls had learned to know the man, and forget the soldier, and to many 
them. Thus the enemy invaded the home. 

There were no grist mills, and no corn to grind. No cotton gins, and 



40 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

no cotton to gin. There were no crops left over, and no seeds to plant. In 
the forests alone was plenty of fuel, the only commodity with which to battle 
the bony fingers of death, now folding- over the once sunny, blooming land 
of grand estate. Those sons of southern sires arose because they must. 
And the women brought forth cotton from secret places — in beds or pillows or 
wherever else it had been stored. And busy fingers resorted to the old time 
way, and they lost not a seed. With these, a first crop was planted. The 
old spinning wheels were brought forward, all that were left, and the thrift 
of their mothers was learned all over again. Every woman was busy, too 
busy to complain, for against hunger and cold the war was now waged. 
Scanty wares were divided, for poverty made all akin. Thus, the women, 
young and old, had found a niche they, too, must fill. 

The "carpetbaggers" were all about, so called because of the bags they 
carried. Men who had been owners of men, were now subservient without 
recourse, to the whims of their recent enemy. The vote of that reign was 
granted only to the "Carpetbagger" and the negro. 

Then came the Ku-Klux-Klan, which served its purpose, too. The country 
stood in a stagnant pool, so far as improvements were concerned. There was 
no money and in the uncertain, unsettled state of both the ruled and ruling 
c^te, incentive itself was at low ebb. 

But time, that healing anodyne, passed, and after a few years the hold 
of strangers and the domination of an inferior race was overcome. The 
change was inevitable, for the men who held the land by purchase and by 
birthright, could but come again and dominate. Some dozen years had 

passed, years of anxiety, uncertainty and turmoil, but in the end this could 
not last, for the conqueror and the conquered were all Saxons, Celts and 
Teutons, too, and all akin by tie of blood — all Americans. Hatred and envy 
may dwell in the heart for a time, but not for always, for the good in the 
human race is stronger than the bad, and peace came in truth at last, and the 
land began to bloom again. 

POST-WAR STORY 

Six loiio years passed, longer than the period of tlie war. 
befoi'e liie peace that was declared in '65 began to be felt in 
reality j)y the people. A few months after the fighting ceased 
the straggling soldiers had all made their way back — all that 
would ever come back. And the families who had gone south 
as refugees, too had returned. They came back, in most cases, 
to their bare farm lands, with perhaps a mule or a horse, and 
perhaps a house, but more often they found neither. It was 
with whatever had been left them and a grim determination to 
make ihe best of the future thai they had passed through this 
period of half a decade. But still there were old chimneys and 
foundation stones as silent reminders of the terrible devastation. 
From old Pittsburg at the mouth of Cabin Creek, west to Spadra 
and extending a mile inland, every house was burned on one night 
in '63, and the feet of many women were charred by live coals, 
from which at least one woman, Mrs. Seth J. Howell, died. And 
no wonder those old chimneys pointing upward, were still 



CLARKSVILLE 41 

s^hastly, grim reminders. But now a half dozen years liad passed 
and a new regime was coming in. 

The first telegraph line up from Little Rock had been in- 
stalled in the Court house in 1862 and the peo])le of Clarksville 
felt as if they were not entirely an inland town. Early in the 
seventies, perhaps '71, an Arkansas company negotiated for a 
railroad to extend from Little Rock to Ft. Smith. The excava- 
tions and dumps for this roadway were almost or perhaps were 
complete, when the company went bankrupt. The old roadbed 
may still be traced. At one time the face of College Hill was 
excavated east and west, and one mile out of Clarksville to the 
west may still be seen the old dump, grown over wdth forest 
trees. A period of doubt and apprehension followed the lull 
in this progress, but soon the Gould System took over the rail- 
way project and a gala day was the one in 1873 when the first 
whistle of progress sounded to the east of the little town. On 
that day, when the rails were laid to the top of East Hill, a 
train w^as on its way, to arrive at a certain hour, so the message 
over the telegraph wires had clicked, and everybody was there, 
for progress had come at last and Clarksville and Johnson county 
v.-ere now on the map. 

A marvelous progress, this telegraph system, over the old 
waiting hours and days at the river landings for the steamer, 
W'hen one couldn't tell whether the boat would puff in sight 
within the hour or, i)crchance, was on the shoals somewhere, 
beyond release. 

Many immigrants came to Johnson County in '73. It 
seemed an incentive to ride to the end of the road. And then 
they usually remained. 

One year later the railroad was extended to Ft. Smith, and 
the Clarksville depot was changed to a place between Taylor and 
Filmore streets, the present site of the Missouri Pacific freight 
depot. 

That old stage line — the inevitable stage line, with its joys 
and discomforts — had served its purpose, had seen its day, for 
now it was abandoned forever. However no inovation comes 
with so sudden a change that the old methods are not given up 
by degrees. And while there were no coaches traveling over that 
long-usrd highway, J. A. Rhea's big white horses were 
still slowly winding their way over the long and steep mountain 



42 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

roads that were, by the niid-ccntiir^, cut throiii^h to Eureka 
Springs. This old hack Hue road was the only outlet for the 
country to the north for many years. But that too lost its favor 
when the Frisco built a railroad through to Seligman, 
Missouri, And the old road to Spadra that had been the most 
popular in the county, was attracting less travel. And the Young 
Ladies Seminary on the top of the hill, from the windows of 
which the girls watched every incoming vehicle for a i)ossible 
beau, or less interesting arrivals, or perchance only for i)astime, 
had been burned — never to be rebuilt. 

Even the long, heavy, sonorous whistle of a steam boat, 
failed to cause the manifested interest of previous years. The 
passing indifference could be appreciated most by those who re- 
membered the occasions of a decade before when the news 
brought by each boat was the topic of the day, and real excite- 
ment prevailed when on some occasions a boat would sink along 
the border of the county. They were easily remembered by 
name, and every detail of the circumstances for years to come. 
It has been said, that on January 3, 1849, the Steamer "Mustang" 
had come up from Napoleon bound for Ft. Smith, when it sank 
two miles below Spadra in five and a half feet of water. When the 
old "Umpire No. 2" went to the bottom of the river, south of 
Clarksville at the Laban C. Howell farm in 1854 the event was a 
topic much discussed. And when the "Sparrow-Hawk" sank in 
185(), and a sak' of dry goods was conducted, the people went in 
great crowds. There was also a steam boat given the honor 
of bearing the name of "Clarksville" that ran the Arkansas in the 
early days. 

In March, 1872, the little court house built back in the thir- 
ties was burned to the ground, just at a time when the ])eople of 
Ihe county were least ready for added taxation to build a hew 
one. But on that day, March 2, County Judge EHsha Mears 
ordered Robert F. Naylor to appoint a commissioner to procure 
and make ready suitable rooms — a court room, grand and petit 
jury rooms, also a clerk's office. The second story of Moreau 
Rose's corner building was secured. 

In January, prior to the burning of the court house in '72, 
the lot on which the county jail had stood for long years was sold 
to John C. Hill. A new lot was purchased from Francis M. 
Paine. The old jail was torn away and J. M. Armstrong was 



CLARKSVILLE 43 

appoinlod a comniissioiior for llic piirj^oso of biiiUliiiij; a new one. 
This was in November, 1874, following a rei)ort made by the 
grand jury in March of 187.3. However the erection of the jail 
was postponed in January, 1874 by the board of supervisors, 
until the next session. Repeatedly, year anfter year, the 
erection was postponed and not until early in the |)resent century 
was a jail built. And in the meantime the lot had been sold to 
J. V. Hughes and a new one purchased, the one on which the 
county jail now stands, and which is the former site of an old 
lanyard. A calaboose had been put on the jail lot and in that, 
drunks were confined, also other |)risoners, temi)orarily. A 
room in the court house was arranged in which to confine most 
of the prisoners. Murderers and some other criminals were 
taken to Little Rock, where they were placed in the State Peni- 
lentiary until tlic term of court at whicli they werc> to be tried, 
was held. 

44ic building of a new court house, liowever, met with more 
fa.voi- tlian the j)r()j)c)s; d jail, and was puslied forward more 
rapidly. On April 18, 1872, it was ordered by the court liiat a 
new building be erected for the seat of justice. .fohn S. Hous- 
ton was appointed commissioner of |)ublic buildings. On 
April 10, following his jiresentation of i)lans of the building to be 
erected, and an estimate of the material of which it was to be con- 
structed, and possible cost, it was ordered that the l)uilding nego- 
tiations begin without delay. Thirty days were given in wliich 
the contract was open for bids. After the tliirty days notice by 
posting and in the newsj)apers, the commissioner was ordered to 
o])en and carefully consider all projxjsals offer. d, and award the 
contract to such bidder as might, in his opinion, secure early com- 
pletion of the building, and protect the county's l:esl interests. 

Ujjon opening the scaled bids the commissioner found thai 
some proposals were for currency and bonds, and otlita's for cur- 
rency' alone. Mr. Houston was then orderc d to I'etpiesI the 
currency bidders to again put in their inds in bonds. .\t the 
October term of court the commissioner re|)()rted tliat the e )n- 
tract had been given to A. J. Millard and R. S. King of Littl" Rock. 

The articles of agreement were entered into Sept. '2. 1872, 
between the honorable county of Johnson and Millard c^ King of 
Little Rock as princii)als, and \V. A. Stewart, E. M. Phillips, IkMi- 
jamin Thomas and D. P. Ui)ham of Little Rock as ])ondsmen. 



44 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The architect was John D. Edwards, also of Little Rock. The 
amount of the bid for completion was $30,875.00. The contract 
specified that the work should begin February 1, 1873. Mr. 
Houston resigned as commissioner on February 14, and R. S. 
Cramplon was appointed to fill the vacancy. When December 
ftf 1873 came, the building had not been completed and the time 
was extended to June 30, 1874. When that day arrived John 
¥. Hughes, who had the contract for decorations, had finished 
with its last coat of paint inside and out, he having the last of 
Ihe contract work. It was then turned over for inspection, and 
was accepted. 

Not only had a beautiful new court house been erected, but 
other houses and homes were rising over the ashes of the past. 
The Methodist congregation had rebuilt the church that was al- 
most complete when burned in '64; Capt. A. S. McKennon and 
Maj. L. N. Swaggerty had each built, in duplicate, handsome 
folonial homes, which are standing today, ivy covered and intact, 
on Central avenue. The McKennon place, without an outward 
change was for several years the Dr. E. W. Adams home, but is 
now the residence of Samuel Laser, and the old Swaggerty home 
is now the Presbyterian Manse, occupied by Rev. Elbert Hefner 
and family. This house has been changed slightly, and was for 
long years the home of Dr. and Mrs. C. E. Robinson. 

Other improvements were rapid, the old log houses were 
])eing weathcrboarded on the outside and sealed with dressed 
lumber on the inside and then given a coat of paint, and some 
of them were canvased and pai)ered. 

Prof. P. Mead Benham and his family, consisting of Mrs. 
Benham, one son, Filo, and one daughter, Ada, came to Clarks- 
ville in the early sixties. Prof. Benham taught the Clarksville 
scliool. It was during this time that the famous writer, Opie 
Reed, made regular visits to Johnson County. His incentive 
was engendered by the presence of the above mentioned young 
lady, for so enamored was he that Miss Benham finally became 
Mrs. Reed. 

The old saw mills and cotton gins were being replaced every- 
where by newer and more modern ones. 

The old cotton gin of Thomas May had well filled its purpose 
and was now abandoned. It was probably the only gin stand- 
ing after the war, and therefore served as a link of sentiment and 



CLARKSVILLE 45 

great need between the old regime and the new. But this may be 
dealt with better to quote from "Early Days in Johnson", by Ex- 
Senator G. T. Cazort. 

"Some soldiers had brought back the horses which they had 
ridden in the army, a mule or pony had been left here and there, 
and with these a few late crops were ])lanted and grown in '65. 
No crops were grown that year in the eastern part of Johnson 
county, but the next spring Maj. Swaggcrty and S. B. Cazort, 
who liad two mules each, repaired the Thos. May gin, near the 
spot whore the Knoxville depot now stands, (for the Cazort gin 
had been brrned by the Federals during the war), and sent oul 
notices that Ihey would gin cotton for the seed. As there had 
been none grown since '61 or '62, and the most of this burned t® 
prevent its falling into the hands of the invading army, the reader 
may ask wlience came this cotton to be ginned for the seed? 
From the pillow cases, cushions, bed ticks and mattresses which 
had survived the war in different parts of the county, from 
Colony mountain to the cliffs of Big Danger, from the hills be- 
yond Salem to the banks of the Arkansas, in lots of 10 pounds to 
200 pounds, in all, about two bales. The women needed lint to 
card and spin, and the owners reserved a part of the seed for 
themselves to plant, but the ginners had left about twenty-five 
bushels, which they divided equally, and from this seed the croj) 
of '66 was grown." 

When the decade covering the eighties came, the little 
village of Clarksville had dug ditches and drained the streets; 
gravel walks were about over the town, and flagstone side walks 
in front of the store buildings were replacing the old ones made 
of lumber; every lot on the north of the stjuare was now filled 
with stone ])uildings, and the McConnell house that burned had 
been replaced by a frame building, the corner of which was still 
Ibe McConnell Drug Store. The old settlers were passing away 
and others were taking their jjlaces. 

Col. John F. Hill, who after the war did a mercantile busi- 
ness, passed away in the eighties. 

S. N. Pitzell was a deaf Jew, — but a business nian. With hira 
came our townsman, Samuel Laser, who is today Clarksville's 
oldest merchant, not in years but in business, — and who is as 
much a devotee of the citv's interests as if he were to the manor 



46 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

born. And his splendid family too, educated and refined, are 
uf the best citizens. 

Rogers Si Hunt was another firm of that decade. W. W. 
Rogers had come from the south of the river, and Wm. Hunt, 
who was a lawyer-merchant, married one of the popular young 
ladies of the city. Miss Mattie Rose. 

There were J. Y. Hughes' Furniture store, John P. Mollo^-'s 
Jt A elry Store, Mike Leib's boarding house, the Koschwitz Res- 
taurant, Dr. McKennon's Drug Store, Dr. Mitchel's Drug Store, 
Miss Mary Hardgraves' Millinery store, Abe Laster's grocery 
store and \Y. \\ Hamilton's Hardware Store. The Clark 
Brothers' Store, M. L. and D. N.; Q. B. Poynor and A. P. May 
were selling drygoods; J. C. Hill, General Merchandise; J. 
W. Coffman, lawyer; B. D. Pennington, J. ^Y. May, T. K. May 
and Claude C. May, all Merchants; Max Seideman, Undertaker, 
and John Mann did an extensive livery stable business; the 
hotel i». the McConnell block with a theatre room over a part of 
the building, the St. Janus Hotel, the City Hotel, with Mr. and 
Mrs. S. A. Black as owners, and the Kitchen Boarding House on 
Lee St. (College avenue). 

During the last ten years of the past century the one-mile- 
s(fuare limit given Clarksville when the town was incorporated in 
1818, had been well taken up and extended far out in the various 
atlditions. Each addition usually took the name of the man who 
held tliL' deed lo the property. There are, to-wit: — Rogers No. 1 
and 2, McLane, Rose, Powers. ^Vard, Kvans, Hays No. 1 and 2, 
and BambL'r or Riddell. 

The Clarksville business district has had several dLslructivc 
fires, l)urning one or more entire blocks at a time, but on each 
occasion new, better and more substantial buildings were put up. 
Nothing save brick, stone or concrete buildings are jiermitted in 
the fir(> district covering the business section. 

At tiiis time Clarksville is an attractive little city, with 
twenty or more miles of concrete sidewalks. The Square and 
Main street aie |)aved, with an asphalt surface. This paving 
runs east across Spadra creek to Bluff street and west a hundred 
yards past Elm street. Each way this |)avement joins the 
Johnson County Highway. This highway when finished, will 
join one from the Pope county line on the east and one in Frank- 



CLARKSVILLE 47 

lin on the west. About half of the distance is covered at this 
time. 

The Clarksville Liglit and Water system is most satisfactory. 
The Light Plant is modern and efficient, and Main street in 
Clarksville has an attractive electric White Way extending from 
the railroad crossing to Spadra bridge. The water is taken 
from a deep well from which it is piped through a filter system 
before being forced into the tank which tops College Hill. The 
high power wires of the Commonwealth Public Service Com- 
pany, of Fort Smith, are connected in the city and are nsed as 
an auxiliary power to operate the Clarksville gins. This ])ower 
is also extended outside to several of the coal mines. 

Clark Thompson who is the state manager for this high 
power company, makes his home in Clarksville. 

Clarksville has as a resident the oldest man in service as 
rural mail carrier in the United States. When quite young 
Hugh Miller began to deliver mail under the Rural Free Delivery 
Act, this being the first county in the United States to be tried out 
as to the practicability of a rural mail service. Mr. Miller has 
now carried the mail over the route assigned, twenty-five years, 
in October, 1921. Four rural carriers go out from Clarksville, 
three froni Lamar, two from Hartman and one from Harmony 
at the present time. 

Clarksville also has the distinction of having the first small 
town free mail delivery in the United States. The women of 
the Clarksville Civic Club took the matter up with Hon. H. M. 
Jacoway, Congressman from the Fourth District, and within a 
short time, to their surprise, Robert Jamison was api)ointed to 
the City Delivery. He delivered the first time, August 15, 1913. 
Today Clarksville has two city carriers. 

The Johnson County Telephone Company is the only one 
in this territory. The exchange extends to all i)oints in the 
county. 

Clarksville today, has 102 business concerns — stores, offices, 
hotels, etc. 

The Citizens Band of Clarksville held the state champion- 
ship in 1915 and was appointed by Governor Hays to rei)resent 
Arkansas at the World's Fair at San Francisco. 

The Post Office at Clarksville is rated in the Second Glass. 



48 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



LAMAR 

The town of Lamar is known by tw^o names. It was orig- 
inally called Cabin Creek, but the Arkansas Legislature, recog- 
nizing a petition of the citizens, officially named it Lamar. 
This change was made during President Cleveland's administra- 
tion and it was given the name of Lamar complimentary to 
L. C. Q. Lamar, who was a member of the Democratic cabinet. 
The Missouri Pacific Railway, however, has continuously refused 
to accede to the name of Lamar — hence, it is Lamar postoffice 
and Cabin Creek station. There are but few cases of this kind 
in the United States. 

What is now the Iron Mountain, or Missouri Pacific Railway 
reached Lamar, building westward, in 1872, but even prior to 
this time Cabin Creek was a prosperous trading post. Cazort 
Brothers erected the first building and were the first merchants. 

The railroad company created a depot at Cabin Creek, and 
Cazort Brothers being the largest lumbermen between Little 
Rock and Fort Smith, were the first agents in charge. 

The town now has about seven hundred people. The town- 
site is much favored by nature, and the general street, business 
and residence arrangements are both sensible and admirable. 
The business section is located on the north side of the railroad, 
and the main business street extends a distance of more than 
three blocks. 

Lamar is situated in the midst of one of the most fertile 
farming sections of the state. Depending on the season, it 
markets from 3,000 to 4,000 bales of cotton per annum, and 
farmers generally raise enough corn, oats, hay and all manner of 
home i)roduce to support theni in their crop-making. Lamar 
is also one of the best fruit and berry sections of Johnson county, 
and every season is the scene of considerable activity in shipping 
circles. 

A beautiful new school building tops the hill south of this 
city, passed by the county highway. The structure stands re- 
splendent on the vantage, near, if not on, the place where, in the 
years before, Sterling May homesteaded. The old school build- 



I^AiAIA]^, HKIH SClldOL Bri].niX( 




LAM AH M) 

inj4 lliat burnod a h\\ years a.^o was iiiim diatcly north of the 
lown. 

Amoiii.^ the cilizjiis hei>inriiir4 back in tiie '7i)'s were Ihe 
Cazorts; Wm. Britlon, willi liis slore of general merchandise; 
Judge J. W. Robinson; G. E. Bennett, a newspaper man and 
story writer; Dr. Hiiddlcston, who was for hjng years a j^rac 
tilioncr in the science of medicine, and whose boyhood home 
was on Horschead creek; Hons. J. S. Winningham and Pierce 
Winningham, two gentlemen who came to Lamar from Hardin 
County, Tennessee; the Blair family; the Mayes boys and their 
sister Ruth; the Klines, of whom Mrs. Eretta Butts of Pine 
Bluff is a daughter; the Simpsons have always lived there, and 
the Blakelys too; and the Wilson brothers, W. H. and W. L. who 
are of a representative citizenship. W. H. Wilson is a former 
school teacher ant! is a staimch Presbyterian, and was for a long 
time president of the Board of Trustees of The College of the 
Ozarks. W. L. Wilson established the Wilson Hardware Com- 
pany in 1911. These two gentlemen are native Kentuckians. 

There were also, from the beginning of the town, the dis- 
tinguished Thompson families; John M. Jackson was a native 
born; Dr. T. E. Burgess a successful physician, and Mrs. M.Boback 
emigrated from Berlin in the nineties. She came to Lamar 
twenty-two y?ars ago, and has since been connected with a 
fashion shop of milliner j^ and accessories. 

The Kitchen Hotel dates back three decades. Mrs. Kitchen 
was the mother of Walter, Minnie, Emma, Lorcne and Mary. 
Emma, Mrs. Glover Weeks, is at this time the proj)rietress of that 
hotel, and her husband is a successful merchant. 

Dr. John Bradley is a popular physician of the present cen- 
tury. The Garner family has for the past thirty 3'ears been 
prominent in the business and social circles of the town. 

Lamar has electric lights, supplied by a connection with the 
Public Service Utility Company. A few of the homes have 
private waterworks. J. R. Cazort has a commodious and attrac- 
tive place in Lamar. W. A. and G. T. Cazort have beautiful 
country homes. 

Some other names associated with the life of the city are 
Moore, Gray, Ovcrbey, Paylor, Scroggin, Barger, Moreland, 
Cowan and Stewart. 



KNOXVILLE 

Situated eleven miles east of Clarksville on the Missouri 
Pacific railroad in the extreme southeastern part of the county is 
Knoxville station. While much of the most interesting part of 
the story of the county centers around the site of this little village, 
the trading post itself did not find existence until after the rail- 
road company built a depot in 1881. Prior to this, covering the 
period between the building of the road in '72 and '81, the place 
had been treated as a flag station. When a postoffice was es- 
tablished there it was known as Black Rock. There seemed no 
reason for such an unephonious name, and after a few years 
some of the more artistic and sentimental residents decided that 
it should be called Mayviile. It will be remembered that else- 
where in this story is stated the fact that the old Thomas May 
liomestead, grist mill, cotton gin, etc., were located there. Shortly 
following this change it developed that another postoffice in the 
slate was called Mayviile. Again the leading men came to- 
gether to decide on a proper name for their home town and this 
time the appellation of Knoxville was chosen. Sentiment again 
was ijlaying a part, for many of the citizens in that meeting were 
frojn the neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Knoxville has a population of four hundred or more persons. 
The Baptists and Methodists have attractive church houses and 
the public school is of eight months duration each year. Knox- 
ville is situated in the foothills and is a good fruit section. It 
lies above the fertile and productive "Bend" along the river. 

It was from Knoxville that the hack line used to connect the 
little village of Dublin across the river in Logan County with the 
railroad. And this line was not discontinued until some few 
years ago, when the railroad was extended from Paris to the 
new town of Scranton, within two miles of Dublin. 

At its beginning Knoxville was principally made up, as other 
towns, of the people who lived in that immediate neighborhood. 
The first names associated with this place were Utleys, 
Jetts, Mahons, Hobbs, Higgs, Robinsons, Careys, and others. 
Knoxville is representative of perhaps a dozen business houses. 
Dr. A. B. Carey was one of the first citizens. He prac- 



KNOX VI I. LK 51 

ticed his profession Unix iinlil his doalh in 1911, and after he 
died Mrs. Carey, who was formerly Miss Nannie H. Kinq;, con- 
tinued to earry on his drui^ bmsint^ss. 

Dr. Joseph Stewart, whose lionie was fornurly up Piney 
creek, was also for several years a praetitionei' there. W. M. 
Phillips heeanie niana.^er of the Knowillc mercantile l)usiness in 
1910. Mr. Phillips ha(f be, n a residiMil of Knoxville since 1888. 

J. H. Hrock was a maL';islrale of Knoxville. Dr. Riley Cowan 
established a drug store at this ])lace in 1909, having previously 
l)racticed the profession in Fjlls\ille. 

W. S. Jett was also, before moxing lo Clarksvilk. a distin- 
guished citizen of Knoxville. 

HARTMAN 

Hartman, one of the most j)ros})erous towns In the state, is 
located in the southwestern part of Johnson county, eleven miles 
west of Clarksville, tiie county seat, and fifty miles east of Fort 
Smith, on the Iron Mountain! railroad. It lias a ])Oj)ulatioji of 
about 500 souls, and is surrounded and su])ported with a country 
teeming with agriculture, fruit, berry, stock and coal niining 
productions. One of the elements entering into the ])rosperity 
of the Hartman trade territory is the fact tiiat among its po})ula- 
tion are many thrifty Girmans. many of whom came directly 
from the Old Country to Hartman, and the fact tliat they have 
prospered the country is ample evidence that they arc individual- 
ly prosperous. There is no more pi'osperous section of Johnson 
county, and certainly none more ])rogressive, than that which in- 
cludes and radiates from Hartman. 

There is nuu'keted in Hartman fi-om 3,000 to 1,000 bales of 
cotton annually, there being three gins in the town. There were 
ship))ed during this year's season more than 2iM> car loads of 
P^lberta peaclv.s, and several car loads of berries and other fruits 
— which were shii)i)ed North. East and West— 2(t0 car loads of 
cotton seed, 100 cai- loads of coal, 2.") cai- loads of logs, jud the 
mercliandising tonnage is excei)tionally large foi' a town the 
population of Hartman. 

The coal mining indnstry is in its infancy, but as the cpiality 
is good and the quantity is known to l)e very extensive, we may 
hopefully expect much devetopmenl along this line within the 
next few years in the Hartman trade territory. The nature of 



52 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

the coal is that of anthracite — the Johnson county anthracite coal 
fields being the only one of its kind west of the state of Pennsyl- 
vania excepting those in Colorado. 

Another industry that has of late been attracting a great 
deal of attention around Hartnian is the fine quality and almost 
unlimited quantities of building stone. The United States 
government has shipped several hundred car loads of it to Pine 
Bluff for riff-raffing the Arkansas river, and the prospects along 
this line are very promising. 

The Methodists, Baptists and Catholics all have homes for 
worship in Hartman, and there is a large two-story school build- 
ing, with an average attendance of 200 pupils. The school is 
well organized and is i)ronounccd to be one of the best in John- 
son county. 

Hartman has: One progressive bank, two drug stores, 
several large mercantile establishments, millinery and jewelry 
concerns, two livery stables, two hotels, a restaurant, tinshop, 
Iwo blacksmith shops, one of which is equipped to do all kinds of 
machinery repairing, tln-ee modern cotton gins, grist mill, rural 
route and telephone facilities , three doctors and one regular 
cow-buyer. 

As to the hospitality of the people I will quote froni some of 
the most enlightened men and women in \Yestern Arkansas, 
while recently attending a convention lield here. They unani- 
mously voted "that Hartman was tlie best town they had ever 
held a convention in." 

In the country around Hartman coimi makes from 40 to 75 
busliels per acre, and alfalfa does excee(Hngly well. Our ])eople 
are all prosperous, and we cordiall^^ invite those seeking homes 
to come and share with, us the results of a fertile soil and an 
e([uable attractive mild climate. 

Land can still be purchased cheap, but this condition will not 
hold good for many more years. 

Yery truly yours, 

' J. A. CROOM. 

* * * 

J. A. Croom, the gentleman who peimed the foregoing article 
in 1912, has passed away and by his death Hartman lost a 
genius. Mr. Croom was not one of those geniuses that the world 
hears about, nevertheless, his latent talents were of high order. 



HARTMAN 53 

His originality in comi)()sition always brought a smile to the face 
of the reader. He was a correspondent from Harlman for one 
of the Clarksville pai)ers for twenty-five years. He was always 
conservative in his opinions and unflinching in exi)ressi()n. 

To mention Hartman to a citizen in tliis generation or the 
past one, one must neetls think of Hon. Howard Holland wlio 
passed away recently at a rij)L' old age. He was one day an active, 
conscientious and able leader. 

Another gentleman, and one ^\'hose name seems wo\'en into 
the Jife of Harlinan, is Es(juirc F. \V. Oberste. He was i)orn in 
Germany in '57 and came across the Atlantic in 18cSl, locat- 
ing at Hartman. He has acquired much land and has 
had great success. With his executive al)ility and his persua- 
sive and ready oratory, he Ijecame readily a leader. His energies 
arc state wide. In 1907 he was elected president of the German- 
American Confederation of Catholic Societies in Arkansas, which 
is a state branch of the National organization, and wdiich position 
he still held during the World War, thus giving him an oppor- 
tunity to, in reality, prove his allegence to his adopted country, 

Louis J. Oberste was post master at Harlman during the year 
1920 and was oul' of twenty postmasters awarded the distingu- 
ished Service Pin for the sales of Liberty Bonds, Savings Stamps 
and Government Securities, from the Sales Department of the 
Eighth Federal Reserve District. And in 1921 he stood first 
among several thousand including six states to sell a One- 
Thousand Dollar Certificate. 

Joe M. Smreker is another German citizen of that town. 

One of Harlman's first settlers was W. P. Wofford, having 
come there in 188(). Mr. Wofford was, in 1912, the manager of 
the Thompson & Collier Gin. This gin has come down through 
a channel of ownerships from, Cravens-Douthit, Johnston & 
Duothit, Jolmston-Langford to Thompson t's: Collier. The 
landmark is now torn away and, the hunber from the frame 
work has been put into cottages. 

Thompson and Collier, were for many years associated in a 
profitable mercantile business and also extensive farm lands. 

Mr. Collier is one of Clarksville's well known Presbyterian 
and C. of O. supporters. 

Mr. Thom])son is his son-in-law and is an experienced and 
good business man. 



54 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

. Lankford-Rusk was the luimc of a former firm in Hart- 
man. James Collier is also a resident of the city. 

Davis Douthi! was on the scene wiien the raih'oad passed 
throai*h Hartman. for he (hdn't move to the town, the town came 
to him. John Dontliit is his son. The Allen family for many 
years have resided on the Allen honustt-ad one mile east from 
the little city. 

Dr. J. (ir. Love, is the i*entleniaii who carries the "pill bags" 
around Hartman. He also has a drug store and is quite a popu- 
lar gentleman. Ex-Sheriff Ewell Love was once his partner in 
the business but he later withdrew. 

Mrs. Taylor for long years fed tlu Iraiiscienl public good 
meals. Other familiar names in Hartman are Stevens, Jett, 
Spanke. Price, Plygge, Faucett, Bunch. Johnson, and Dr. Boyer. 

COAL HILL 

Coal Hill is the second largest tow n in the county. It is 
situated on the Missouri Pacific railroad not far from the south- 
western boundary. The first house in the town was built in 
December of I87(i>, by George Willford. who also owned the 
first store. 

During the latter days of '76 or pcrhajjs soon after the new 
year of "77. the Stcwells began the operation of a coal min?. The 
railroad then pitt in a switch to accommodate the out-put from 
!his slope. This accession to the road was called "Whalens 
Switch." A village sprang up at once — one that bid fair to be 
of great proportions. 

Life and affairs in this bituminous coal mining section was 
not different from like villages in the mountains of California, 
LtaJi. Arizona or other western districts. 

Facing the railroad on either side were store buildings, 
liotrls and saloons. Gun-men and their colleagues are said to 
have soon made their appearance — the frontier type who 
wouldn't stay in a country where they couldn't wear a belt 
buckled around their waist line with cartridges for decoration. 
They were usually of the "hero" type, or as such, 'tis alleged, who 
often received a friendly comi)liment on their nerve and splendid 
physique. Many of these men were good at heart, but a few of 
them desperadoes. The latter however, could not continue for 



COAL HILL 55 

long in a country inhabited with a peace loving and God-fearing 
people. 

One of the first saloons at Whalen's Switch was owned by a 
man named Aaron Matthews. 

After the coal mines had increased their output and a town 
had sprung up, the name of "Whalen's Switch" did not seem 
quite approi)riate. And besides, Wlialen liad another switch 
elsewhere in the state and it caused more or less confusion, 
therefore those persons in control decided to change the name. 
Nothing suggested seemed more appropriate than Coal Hill. 

The town now possessed a mushroom growth of some 
thousand people, and on January 8, 18<S() it was incorporated. 

Along the same street as in frontier days the stores are lo- 
cated. Some of them are brick, some stone and there are still 
a nuudjer of the old frame buildings. The Citizens Bank of 
Coal Hill is in a modern building of brick on the street north of 
the Railroad. There are a number of attractive residences in 
the town. The new brick school building with commodious 
rooms for all the grades and the high school has recently re- 
placed a frame building. 

Many Coal operators have entered this field since the first 
slope was sunk. A detour in the railroad has reached out to Alix, 
another coal camp. The passenger train service has since been 
divided in accommodations between the two. While Coal Hill is 
still a mining town, it is not confined solely to that industry. It 
is a lucrative farming, fruit and berry section. 

Names familiar with Coal Hill and the story of its life are, 
Coyle, Houston, J. K. Love, Frost, Bryant, Wm. Sams, Withers, 
Hills, Srygley, Oden, Kendorf, West, Rafter, Heidlebcck, Iirown, 
Coats, Hunt, Porter, Flake, Eiscm, Malone and King. 

"Uncle Billy" Sams was proprietor of a hotel in Coal Hill for 
thirty years, beginning back in the 70's. Taylor Hill was also a 
hotel keeper in that city for twenty-five years following 1890. 
He was the father of Mrs. Will McCoy, Mrs. Will McCart and 
other children. He was a grandson of the pioneer Mark Hill, 
and a nephew of tho distinguished Col. John F. Hill. 

F. G. Srygley came to Coal Hill from Alabama in 1885. 
Along with him came a colony of. a large niunber of families 
There were three Srygley brothers, F. G., F. W. and F. D. "The 
Srygley Bros." was the title of a firm in Coal Hill before F. G. 



56 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

purchased the shares of his brothers and became associated with 
his brother-in-law. Then the firm was "Oden & Srygley." Mr. 
Srygley was for many years a leading business man of Coal Hill. 
His children were Leander, Edna, Dora, Delia and Ethel. 

SPADRA 

Early in the present century a new Spadra sprang up. The 
Johnson County Coal Company, The Scranton Coal Company, the 
Eureka and the Clark-McWilliams mines were shafts that were 
sunk almost simultaneously during the first three or four years 
of this century. Naturally each or all of theni drew from other 
coal fields a prorata of workers. 

Three classes of persons wre soon on the ground: That 
class which is seeking a livlihood and is desirable; the typical 
dissatisfied type, and the transient miner. 

The two earlier mines of the 70's shared with Coal Hill a brief 
period of frontier life, but neither of them entertained in such 
numbers the dissatisfied class. Whether it was because there were 
only two miues and therefore less attractive or whether that ele- 
ment was a later product, is not clear. But whatever the reason, 
the fact remains that wlien the major development of the Spadra 
field began, a new immigration appeared. True, many of them 
were desirable citizens, but also many were not. Drunken brawls 
and murders were not uncommon. Men mj'steriously disaj)peared, 
criminals were difficult to find, and more difficult to convict. 
Some of tliL^ most desperate and notorious characters in the 
United States have been there. The sojourn of some of theni 
was of brief duration while it pleased others to tarry awhile. 
And a few of tliLin met their death while there. In a brawl one 
night five men shot each other and no one was left to tell the tale. 

These mines have served their time with turmoil, strikes, 
lent colonies and law suits. But the inevitable swing of the 
pendulum will reach its point of limit and start back again. On 
the rebound, covering several years, comparitive quiet has 
reigned. Ikit the Spadra of old and the Spadra of new are 
metiphors in comparison. 

Spadra is but a series of coal camps almost without break 
from Spadra Creek six wiles west to Montana, a station created 
some fifteen years ago. Nor do the camps end there, for beyond 



SPADRA 57 

Molilalia they extend into the corporate hmits of the town of 
Harlnian. and north to the Wire road aloni* the foothills of the 
Ozarks. 

On the east of Spadra (j'eek, in the Jameslovvii camp, there 
are two mines of considerable toniiat!;e, and also, farther in the 
county, nearer Cabin Creek, are some smaller breakers. 

OTHER VILLAGES AND POSlOkEICES 

Harmony — is up Horsehead creek, in the settlement where 
Abraham Laster and twelve other families located in "X\. It is 
on the bank of the creek on a rocky incline. There are several 
little stores, a cotton i>in and a beautiful stone church. The 
descendants of those first settlers still tlominale in numbers. 
Harmony is a proi*ressive inland town. 

Hagarville — is another of the old villai^es. It was formerly 
called Salem and is up Piney creek near IIk' cliffs along the 
stream called "The Narrows." This little inland town is the 
honie of one of the Raplist Mountain Academies. 

Piney — located on the bank of Piney creek and the river, 
two miles from the east boinulary where the Missouri Pacific 
railroad enters the county, is this little town, which serves as a 
trading post cUid outlet for the people who live uj) stream on the 
tasl side of tlie creek. 

Piney Creek is now crossed by ferry boat at Piney, the 
couiily bridge having been twice destroyed by cyclone, the latter 
time on the night of Aj)ril IcS, 1920, when a tornado swejit 
Johnson, Franklin, Yell, Logan and Boone counties, destroying 
many homes, killing eighteen people and injuring many more. " 

*This tornado entered the county from a southwesterly direction and 
continued this course for about a mile when it passed over Piney mountain. 
The first residence to suffei' was that of Tom Whorton. whose house and barn 
were wre.-.v-d The family escaped injury but some of the li\«' slock was 
crippled. After i)assing: over Piney mountain the storm tui-ned due north, sweep- 
ing- down the public i-oad striking- next in its course the home of (Miaiiey Parker, 
completely destroying- the home and all out buildings, injuring- both Mr. Parker 
and his wife. Next in its course it swept the homes of John Moore. George 
Kilej-. Paul P^iley and .lim Whorton. destroying- their homes, barns and all 
out buildings. Init the families in these homes escaped serious injur.v. At Bud 
Parker's the home was wrecked and the entire family, more or less seriously 
injured. At this point the tornado again changed its course to a little east of 
north, sweeping- everything- in its path. The honies of .lim Huron and W. B. 
Drummond were destroyed completely. Mrs. Diummond and f)ne child were 
injured. 

The home of A. G. Blackard was the next toll taken by the storm where 
everything- was completely wrecked, and IVIr. Blackard. his wife and grown son 



58 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



POSTOFFIGES 

Places where post offices have been estabHshed, many of 
which not mentioned before, have two or three Httle stores, a 
blacksmith shop, etc. 



Batson 
Catalpa 
Clarksvillc 
Coal Hill 
Dale 
Devils Knob 



Dillon 

Fort Douglas 

Frilcy 

Garber 

Hagarville 

Harmony 



Edna, Lone Pine and Hunt 
pos toff ice service at this time. 



Hartman Mount Levi 

Knoxville Oark 

Lamar Ozone 

Linville Piney 

Lutherville Spadra 
Montana Yale 

Zadock 
are three little villages without 



were injured, Mr. and Mrs. Blackard seriously so. 

Tom Adams lost his home and his aged mother was seriously hurt. From 
this point the tornado passed over a bluff and across a twenty acre field where 
it, in its fury, seemed to gather and concentrate its entire force against the 
home of Charley Zachery, literally lifting the house in which were the father, 
mother and four children, from its foundation and hurling it against the trees 
in the yard and on the edge of the little hill, tearing it into thousands of pieces, 
finally landing the wreckage in a ravine about a hundred yards from its 
former foundation. The mother and two children were instantly killed, while 
the father and other two children were seriously injured, one of the children 
dying some eight or ten hours afterward. 

The tornado was about a quarter of a mile in width, and in its main path 
swept everything before it, leaving nothing unmoved. After passing- Mr. 
Zachery's place it continued about a mile when it struck another mountain. 
Here it seems to have lost its force, for no other damage was done. 



Chapter II. 



EVENTS LEADINC; IT TO THE FORMATION 
OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

After tlu' I niled Stales beeaine an iiukpeiident ^overnineiil 
('oiiijiress began to cast her eyes west ward over the great i'oi'esf 
i\[ her very door. 

With Spain and France clanning stietches of this terriloi-y, 
the United States saw a vision of a future great nation and 
reasoned that she must negotiate for that acreage which, by value 
of location, should belong to her. And when the vast territory of 
Louisiana was purciiased from France the little spot of wliich 
Hiis story is written began to be an obscuri' possibility. 

With this j)urchase in 1803 changes began, and followed in 
rapid succession. In March, 18(»4, Congress created two ten-!- 
lories of this domain. The portion which bordered on the gulf 
and extended to the jjresent northern boundary of the stale* of 
i^ouisiana was called tlie Territory of Orleans, with New i*v- 
leans as the capitol. The remainder of the ])urchase, whicl: 
comprised the noi'thern territory, was kno\\n as the District of 
Louisiana, tlu' capitol of which was St. Louis. 

In 1812, when the Territory of Orleans \\'as admitte<i to the 
Union as a state, it was given the name of Louisiana, while the 
territory that had borne that name was changed to Missouri. 

The following year, on December 31, 1813, the Legislature* of 
the Missouri Territory formed two comities, Arkansas and N^-w 
Madrid, the former comprising our |)resent state of .Vrkansas. 

This county existed for five years when from tlie lapid 
growth of the country and the slow progress of travel it l)ecamc 
necessary to centralize activities more, and Arkansas County 
was made a separate territory. Th? dale of this change was 
March 2, 1819. 

At the second session of the legislature of the Arkansas 
Territory on October 18. 1820, Crawford county was formed of 
which our present county was a part. Tlie lillli' town of Van 
Huren was the county seal. 



60 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The flow of iininii>ration was rapid and after nine years it 
became necessary for other smaller counties to be set apart and 
again the acreage of this section was given on November 2, 1821\ 
to the new county of Pope. Scotia was the seat of governmem. 

Four years later even the Pope comity boundary seemed 
of too great dimensions. Pressure was brought to bear and the 
legislature of November 16, 1833, voted their sanction for another 
county, to comprise' the whole of the western portion of Poj.c. 
Wesley Garrett was a legislator from the territory of the new 
county and he was given the liberty of selecting a name for it. 
And be it said to his credit, he did not name it Garrett as most 
men would have done. However, Garrett would have been a 
most a})propriate name. Instead he chose to call it Johnson, 
after his devoted friend, Benjaman Johnson of the supreme bench 
of Arkansas Territory. Spadra was the territorial county seat. 

TOPOGRAPHY 

Johnson County, located in the Arkansas river valley, lies in 
latitude 36 degrees and longitude 94 degrees west from Green- 
Avich, one hundred miles northwest from Little Rock and sixty 
one miles from Ft. Smith. The area of her territory is ap- 
proximately 660 square miles, or 433,000 acres. Newton and 
Madison Counties lie north of Johnson, with Pope on the east, 
I.ogan on the south and Franklin on the west. The boundary 
line on the north has not been changed since the formation of 
the count}'. The dividing line on the east has not proven so sat- 
isfactory, since as the years have gone by ,many changes have 
been made. The first survey was run in October, 1836. Others 
at intervals as follows: 1859!^ 1871- 1876 and 1877. The first 
division on the west was made in 1837 but was changed as 
it stands today, on December 14, 1848. 

With the formation of the county, three townships, Cane 
Creek, Mountain and Shoal Creek, which lie soutli of the river, 
were included in Joiuison. 44ie surveyor fornu'd this line on 
November 2, 1836. However, when Logan County (then Sarber 
County) was formed, March 22, 1871, this lay of land was taken 
from Johnson, leaving the river as the southern boundary. 

Surface and Topography: This county constitutes three 
distinct salients — the mountains, the foot-hills, or up-lands, and 



TOPOGRAPHY 61' 

river flats, or bottoms. Many liii^h ridi^cs of the Ozarks extend 
across the nortliern part of the county, lyini^ chiefly in a north 
and south direction, as they protrude from Newton and Madison 
lo a deplii of eii^ht or ten milvS into Johnson. 

These ridi,'es, known as the Mulberry Range, lying from cast 
lo west are, namely. Moon Hull, the highest. Woods, Storms, 
Ozone, (formerly called Gillian) Low Gap and Ratson. Two 
smaller ridges near the center of the county, east and west, side by 
side, divided by Spadra Creek, are Red Lick and Stilhvell. These 
many ridges slojx^ from an altitude of 2200 feet to the foot-hills,, 
and hence to the I'iver flats. 

The mountain plateaus vary from one to twelve miles in 
width and are covered with a soil of clay formation topped with 
a thin stratum of light loam. The surface of the upland is 
somewhat undulated by nature and covers a portion of the county 
estimated to be 176,600 acres, and varies in width from leu to 
fifteen miles. The soil on these hills is of a humatic clay for- 
mation. This upland section extends across the county and 
lies north and south to within one to three mik^s of the river. 
This narrow strij) of low, level, fertile farm lands lies along the 
entire river front for thirty miles. It is estimated that the extent 
of this river land and the creek bottoms of the county cover ap- 
proximately oOJIOO acres This i)roductive soil is of a ricli nf- 
luvial dej)osit admixed with varying (juanlities of sand. 

The cropping rocks in the moiuitains are i)rincipally ferrug- 
inous sand-stones, while in the hill lands is found not only llie 
sand-stone but also an argillaceous slate. 

Timbers: The native timbers grow luxurously. The oaks 
predominate from the mountain tojis to the river's edge. 
Hickory, blackgum, elm, mulberry, wild cherry, cedar, ash and 
maple flourish anywhere in the county. Chinquai)in trees are 
onlj' seen on the mountains and pecans only in the lowlands. 
The walnut once grew everywhere, and it is possible for this tree 
to reach great proportions, but it is not so numerous as f;}rn>erly, 
since many of them have been felled and sent to i)rofi tabic 
markets. Stately short-leafed pines grace hundreds of I'ocky 
knolls and mountain sides. The willows, sassafras and sj)erm- 
Avood are found in the low, swaggy places. There is also nuich 
pasture land with a growth of timber. 



i2 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The National Forest Reserve of this section extends 
idIo Johnson county and covers 17000 acres, which he in the 
northeast corner of the county. 

The scenery from many points on hills and mountains are 
indeed worthy of mention. 

The hills and dells doth stretch away 
To meet the sunset's passing- ray, 
As cloudlets flit about in space, 
Picturesque — from this vantage place. 

CREEKS 

There are a number of creeks which traverse the county, 
some of thtni almost rivers in size, — others small. Most of 
them flow from north to south and find their confluence either 
directly or indirecth- in the river. 

Beginning on the cast side of the coiuily, in jjosition, Piney 
eomes first. It is the largest of them all and might w^ell be 
called a river. In matter of possession, this stream belongs to 
Newton, Johnson and Pope Counties. lis source is found in 
the beautiful limestone region of Newton county. A sparkling 
rivulet, clear and crystal-like, growing wider and deeper as it is 
met by many streams adown its way from cliffs and gorges, 
seventy-five miles in lenglh, to the sandy shores of the Arkansas, 
Pinoy enters Jolmson county several miles west of the northeast 
corner and flows diagonally into Pope, where its course is almost 
due south for several miles, when a sharp turn \\cst brings it into 
Johnson again, thence south, into the Arkansas some ten miles 
away. The widLli and (lei)th of this stream makes it navigable 
for flatljoats six miles up from the river. And while these boats 
are not !)ractical at all at this lime, in the days of the real pioneer- 
ing liiey wer(> of greal local convenience. Stalely pines grow 
along llie banks of this creek all along its way. Some of the 
fcirgesi and most j)rof liable timbers in this part of tb.e state find 
their nalivily on llie mountain sides overlooking this stream, 
which shares their name. It is in the bed of this creek that a 
niunber of valuable Arkansas pearls have been found. 

Lillle Piney rises in the mountains near Ft. Douglas, and 
IFIows many miles before it meets the parent stream, eight miles 
Ifroiu the confluence of the latter. This creek is in like nature to 
ttie big ci-eek and almost as large. 



T()1H)GHAP11Y 03 

These two streains aboiiiul in trout and otluT fresh water 
fish, therefore affonhng i>"reat si)ort for fishermen. 

Minnow Creek, a brook in size, also (h'ains many aeres of 
farm land in the eastern part of th? eounty. 

Cabin Creek eomes from a souree near the eenter of the 
count3% flowing in a winding, sluggish way, emptying into the 
river three miles east of the town of Lamar. 

Ex-Governor Adams loeated near this stream in 1835, bring- 
ing \vith him many negroes and because of the large number of 
cabins he built along its banks it received the quaint and unique 
appellation of Cabin Creek. 

Spadra Creek, with its headwaters a tiny brooklet rushing 
down Low Gap Mountain, grows rapidly in size as it courses over 
a rock}' bed betwe?n the mountains of Red Lick and Stillweil, 
through the center of the county. It passes the town of Clarks- 
ville four miles before reaching Spadra, and the river. 

How Spadra received its name is not known, though the 
w^ord is Spanish and when translated means "Broken Sword." 
A poem written by John W. Woodard in the fifties furnishes 
the only solution. The legend is supposed to be fiction, still jt 
may have been based on facts — no one knows. Nevertheless, it 
is a beautiful story, well written, and adds a zest of interest to 
conjurors of a buried past. 

Greenbriar, Hogskin and Little Spadra are tributaries of the 
larger Spadra. 

Along the western border of Johnson county, Horsehead, a 
water cours? emanating from the heights of Batson Mountain, 
drains some exc:Tlenl farm land and passes the thriving little 
town of Hariman, three miles before it reaches the river. The 
name of Horsehead is said to have been acquired by early settlers 
who, wdien first coming to the stream saw on its bank an upright 
pole on which was mounted a horse's head of dimensions larger 
than an ordinary animal of that type. No reason for this was 
ever learned and the countrymen from thai time referred to the 
stream as "Horsehead." 

Winding clear and beautiful around the Mulberry Mountain 
is Mulberry Crtek, or river. The streamlets which come to- 
gether and form this river of more than seventy miles in length, 
are fed from the cliffs and peaks of Moon Hull, Ozone and Low 



()4 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Gap mountains. This body of water flows west through a long 
narrow, fertile valley as it finds its way into Franklin County near 
the northeast boundary line of Johnson, thence southwest across 
Franklin to the Arkansas river at the town of Mulberry. Along 
the banks of this splendid waterway, farthest removed from the 
thickly settled districts, hunters have found great sport. In 
former days all the animals adapted to the climate were at home 
in these forests, and two generations ago recall bear hunts that 
were not uncommon. Until a few years past, "deer drives" were 
the events of the huntsman's sporting season. Fox hunters 
today occasionally pay this locality a visit with their hounds that 
are as eager for the run as the hunters themselves. Nor does 
the fox himself ever fail to appear. Wolves, bobcats and oc- 
casional deer may still be seen. It is here that the fisherman's 
"fish stories" come true. Little Mulberry, Davis Creek and 
Bear Branch are tributaries of Mulberry, 

SPRINGS 

In the days before ice was an essential product, when elec- 
tricity had not found its way into the county, when kerosene and 
gasoline stoves were unheard of, sleeping porches were unknown, 
night air was unhealthy, the elimination of the mosjuito un- 
thought of, the idea of wire screens had not arrived and the fly 
and malaria were necessary evils, it was almost essential that 
everyone change to some point of vantage for a vacation in the 
summer season. For forty years there was no railroad and even 
when that accommodation reached the county, the inhabitants 
could not be persuaded that other places offered better facilities 
for health giving than their own mountain territory. 

White Sulphur Springs — Up Little Piney creek, some 
twenty miles from the river can be found a spring of cold water 
flowing a rich white sulphur deposit, the only one in the county 
and one of the few in the state. 

It was around "Russell Springs," drinking its medicated 
draught and basking in the ozone of the adjacent hills and dells 
that many of our predecessors sought recourse from the lassitude 
of heat and ailments peculiar to the summer season. Uriah 
Russell was the farmer nearest to the place, — hence its name. 
The spring proper, however, is on a sixteenth section and belongs 
to the Missouri Pacific Railroad. 



TOPOGRAPHY 65 

The solid rock ovcrliani>ini> the spring is marked with 
scores of iiaines and dates reaching back into the past century 
fifty years and more. Some are so antiquated that they cannot 
be discerned. 

Early in the seventies, after a roadway had been cut across 
the Low Gap Mountain and access to this fourteen hundred feet 
of incline was made possible, the inliabitanls of the county be- 
came interested in a spring of gushing chalybeate water, cold 
and clear, flowing from under an old fallen tree, with a spongy, 
saffron deposit following the trail of the streamlet. And now 
for almost one-half a century the people of the county, and es- 
pecially Clarksvilleites have gone, during the heated season, to 
this secluded spot to rest and recreate. The main spring was 
soon made more accessible by a stone wall being built above the 
water-flow, SL^mi-circular style, and with a spacious concrete ap- 
proach. Also a pavilion now spans the gap below, thus afford- 
ing a common meeting ground for the visitors. Thirty cottages 
constitute the summer camp. The "Hotel de Lewis" has not 
been open to the public for several years, but in the days long 
past, many joyous week-end parlies, ever to be remembered by 
the participants, coupled willi romance and fun, were spent here. 
Also did the old Hotel of earlier days furnish rendezvous for the 
young folks who are the grandmothers and grandfathers of to- 
day. 

The water of Low Gap Springs is reputed to be classed 
with the second coldest in the United States. A chemical analy- 
sis made by L. T. McRay of Baltiiuore, Maryland, is as follows: 

Per Million Gallons— Chlorine 7.0, Frje ammonia 0.001, Al- 
buminoin Ammonia 0.05, Nitrite 0.0005, Oxygen consumed 
0,5, Iron Total 4.0 — (>004 /< , — Iron in solution 0.6, Iron in sus- 
P'usion 3.40. 

Classifying the waters of the county — One white sulphur 
spring, twenty-five chalybeate springs and dozens of clear, fresh 
water springs and at least two artesian wells. 

The well water, especially in the mountains and uplands, is 
cold, pure and healthy. The water supply for the town of 
Clarksville is taken from a deep everlasting well of soft, pure 
water situated north of the citv. 



66 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

MINERALS 

A number of Minerals arc found in this county but the only 
one in quantity possessing commercial value is coal. The first 
coal discovered in Arkansas was found in 1841, out-cropping on 
the east bank of Spadra Creek up a few hundred feet from the 
i'ivcr. 

Two major veins are known to exist, one of them anthracite 
and the other bituminous, sometimes called semi-anthracite. 
The veins range from thirty inches to four feet. The quality 
is reputed to bo as fine as the world produces. Because of this 
excellent product this field has won favor in all the coal markets 
of the United States and in some other countries. 

The "Arkansas Anthracite", or "Spadra Field" lies along 
the length of the southern boundary of the county and extends 
north from the river six or eight miles. There is approximalclj' 
60000 acres in the field and it is found out-cropping in a number 
of places. The vein nearest the surface lies in the center of the 
belt and slopes east and west. Two holes have been drilled at 
Clarksville and the drillers each time have reported that they 
passed through the Spadra vein, three feet or more in thickness, 
at a depth of approximately five hundred feet. This coal is a 
smokeless fuel, ignites more readily and burns freer than the 
other anthracites of the country. It has a very great heating 
power because of freer British thermal units than is found in 
other anthracites. Coal men who have studied this product 
affirm that when free from slate or slack the Anthracite coal of 
Arkansas is the most satisfactory domestic coal in the world. 

In 1843 barges served to send this coal down the river to 
Little Rock and other points. Becaus:' of the remoteness of the 
locality, inadequate facilities for transportation, lack of know- 
ledge concerning its use and the extensive forests of wood to be 
Iiad all over the state, almost without expense, the mining busi- 
ness was soon abandoned. Twenty years passed before the coal 
industry became ])rof liable. 

Experts who have studied the coal of this field affirm that 
the former conclusion as to analysis, — that this was a semi-an- 
thracite i)roduct, — is erroneous for the tests carefully made at 
this time prove to be the same as any anthracite. It is very 
like in nature to the coal of the Shanokin Basin of Penn- 



MINERALS 67 

sylvania, but it contains a i>iTatcr ([uantity of fixed carl)on than 
the coals of the eastern field. 

The vein of Pope County is ahnost identical \\ith the 
anthracite in Johnson. The full extent of the Si)adra field was not 
known to extend so far to the west until early in the present 
century when Fremont Stokes and Cooper Langford prospectcvl 
and found that part of the field to he the choicest territory .b-^- 
cause of the thicker vein. 

The bituminous coal of tliis comity lies in the western ])()r- 
tion along the border of Franklin county. This field is a con- 
tinuation of the fields of that county. The mines of Coal 
Hill are in this belt. The thickness of the bituminous vein 
is approximately four feet. It is a very satisfactorj' domestic 
fuel ])eini^ soft and easy to ignite. It is also a smokeless product. 
Another bituminous vein 12 inches thick — too thin to i)ossess any 
degree of publicity outside of the county, soft and inflamable. 
and unsurpassed in the world in quality, lies in the western part 
of the county near Horsehead Creek. It is known as the Philpot 
coal, so called because a man l)y the name of Lynn Phil])ot owned 
the land on which it was found, and operated the mine for 
years. The vein is only a few feet benoath the surface in most 
places and is mined by "strip pits". This spongy-like coal 
ignites almost like kindling and swells as it burns — never fails — 
always burns, and when it is finally consumed thcnv is nothing 
left to signify that the fire had been, save a handful of red ashes. 
Because of th? remoteness of the locality and the thinness 
of the vein this coal has never been offered to outside markets. It 
is delivered however, to individuals at the distance of fifteen or 
twenty miles, in trucks or wagons. This coal brings a higher 
price than any other in the county. 

Iron was discovered in this county early in its history and 
was reputed to be in paying quantities though it was m'ver 
developed and never sought after, still it is evident that it is in 
quantities of more or less value all over the county. 

Lead is known to exist though not in ])aying ([uantities so 
far as discoveries have been made. 

Gold has been found in the extreme' north of the county in 
a section lying several miles north of Ozone. Specimens of this 
metal sent to Washington have shown it to exist in small payini^ 
quantities, averaging $2.50 to -$3.50 per ton. Owing to the re- 



68 HISTORY OF JOHNSON CaUNTY 

moteness of the locality, the condition of the roads and lack of 
capital willing to take the risk, further investigation has been 
barred. 

Gypsum is reputed to have been found in the mountains 
here also, but as to quantity, it is not known. 

Kaolin is said to exist in abundance, only awaiting its turn 
of popularity, that the hand of art may shape it into beautiful 
pottery, or bake it to porcelain, thus giving to Johnson another 
source of revenue. 

Blue sandstone is in abundance at Cabin Creek and has been 
quarried since 1887. This is a Ijcauliful stone, in appearance 
very like the real granite. Being of a softer texture however, 
makes it a most desirable building material. It was more in 
demand during the latter years of the last century than at the 
present time, since the appearance of concrete replaced, in part 
the use of stone work. It is used for the building of handsome 
structures. The Methodist Church at Clarksville is of this stone, 
also the Blue Stone Bank at Lamar. This quarry also produces 
an excellent flagstone suitable for range work and curbing rocks. 

Clay for making brick is found in abundance and while no 
one is operating a kiln, it is one of the dependable moneyed assets 
for future demand. 

Pearls of high class are sometimes found on the banks and 
in the beds of the two Piney creeks. The mussel shells are 
deposited by the thousands after a high water mark. Most of 
these pearls are imperfect, though a few have been smooth and 
round. They have brought in market from $10.00 to $300.00 
each. 

FRUITS 
One hundred years have passed since the white man began 
his habitation on this soil, yet today many of the wild fruits, which 
welcomed his coming, by furnishing for his store house jiative 
l)erries, nuts, et cetera, are still found in many places, where the 
under brush is left uncut or the timber is i)ermitted to grow. Even 
if only a few trees are on the hill sid(.\ low land or pasture a num- 
ber of them will produce some fruit. The blackl)erry is the most 
sought after. It is seldom cultivated by farmers since almost 
every farm will possess some uncut i)lace on which this 
particular vine flourishes to perfection. Weather conditions 



FRUITS 09 

govern the quantity and ([iialily. No special locality gives pref- 
erence to the growth, since it is found from the mountain tops 
to the river front. 

Dewberries are also a native wild fruil. They are of ex- 
cellent quality, but not so prevalent as the former berry. It 
grows in profusion, however, as undergrowth, in the river bot- 
toms. 

Huckleberries find habitation on the mountans. Wild 
grapes antl muscadines will grow in any part of the county as 
also will the native persimmon which furnishes a temporary 
range for hogs. Wahuits and hickory nuts, the nativity of 
which are in hill and dell, the chinquapins in the mountains, the 
pecans in the bottoms, all bear a fruit for winter use, without 
cultivation. 

It might well be said here that every wild flower adapted to 
the climate blooms in profusion, from the tiny "Jump-up" in 
the early days of February to the last purple viokt tucked away 
under the November fallen foliage to peep out — perhaps, on 
Christmas Day. 

A country possessing high mountains, hill lands and river 
flats will, from diversity of soils, produce a variL'ty of products. 
The mountains and hill lands are more retentive of moisture than 
the lower levels and therefore on those red clay loams the fruit 
products are unexcelled and the perennial pastures provide ex- 
cellent range for the cattle and hogs of the mountain men. 

Apples — The first fruit grown in Johnson county to create 
outside interest was a display of Shannon apples at a Pomological 
Exhibit in Philadelphia. This apple was grown on a rock 
ribbed hill of this county and was packed at Clarksville. The 
beauty, texture and flavor of the Shaimon is unexcelled. The 
Ben Davis is a large api)le with a great enduring quality, there- 
fore of commercial value. The Winesaj) is the most widely 
known because of its unexcelled flavor and also for its length of 
endurance. When this api)le first ripens it is hard, but with age 
it mellows into a most delicious palatable fruit. The Limber 
Twig, Red Russet, Ingram and Arkansas Beauty are favorite 
growers. The latter is an Arkansas seedling. The fruit is 
smooth , round and red. The Ozone and the Jonathan are also of 
native grafting. The apple once took precedence in the Johnson 
County fruit displays but lack of education in the care and pre- 



70 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

servation of the trees and their fruit has in the passing years dis- 
heartened the orchard men and tather products were grown for 
which disease was not awaiting each succeeding crop. Because 
of tliis condition fruit men have studied the situation and by 
analysis the soil is known to be unexcelled for the fruit in 
question and scientific treatments have eliminated the former 
combat and now it is known that the maximum quality of the 
fruit is being raised and it is possible to make the dream of the 
early grower come true. 

Johnson is said to hold a soil almost identical to that on the 
Rhine and with proper care grapes will produce in abundance 
and flavor acceptable to the most fastidious. The varieties usual- 
ly cultivated are the Concord, Delaware, Ivy Seedlings, Moore's 
Early and the Niagra, 

Pears are grown to perfection and as luxuriously as other 
fruit. 

Plums of this county are without fault and in great abimd- 
ance. Those most cultivated are the Blue Damson, Wild 
Goose, Chickasaw and the Japanese varieties. Cherries are 
grown to some extent and produce a splendid fruit and while 
they have not found favor in common as some other fruits, still 
the orchards of the county supply all the local demand. 

Berries of the cultivated varieties are many. Strawberries 
should be mentioned first sine? they produce an early fruit for 
which the market is always ready and the berries grown 
on the undulated red clay hills of this county are perfect. 
There was a time when they were planted for other markets 
but owing to shipping conditions and lack of cooperation 
tlic project was abandoned to give place to other crops. The 
possibility however for the strawberry is as great as any fruit in 
the county and in tliL' future no doubt they will be more exten- 
sively grown and be of great money value to this locality. At 
all times the markets of the county have been supplied by the 
home producer as well as some express shipments. 

The raspberry, gooseberry, Himalayaberry and others are 
grown and disposed of in the county. 

Peaches — Johnson County has justly been called the "Peach 
Orchard County." The red clay hills formerly thought to 
be of so little value, since the beginning of the present century, 



FARM PRODUCTS 71 

have been found to grow i)eaches as fine as the world produces. 
Any variety seems to flourish with equal perfection, but for dur- 
ability and shipping the famous Elberta lakes the lead. Thous- 
ands of these trees have been put into orchards and as the indus- 
try grows the orchardmen learn how to better care for them. A 
clean, well kept orchard ])resents a beautiful picture. The fruit 
is large, round and smooth, with an admixed coloring of red and 
yellow, assimilated it might seem from the soil on which they 
grow. The flavor is most appetizing and finds favor with all 
connoisseurs of peach culture. Truly the Elberta has no equal. 
The growth and shipments reached the zenith in 1912 when the 
county sent out to otlier markets 1100 cars, while many were left 
for home consumption and also hundreds of bushels, over ripe, 
were not taken from the orchards. 

In 1902 J. R. Tolbert, a newspaper man and fruit enthusiast, 
received from Georgia, the first real Elberta. 

In 1912 there were 400,000 trees in the county. The 
season of 1919 was a successful one in money value. Approxi- 
mately 500 cars were shii)ped, netting the orchard men f!500,- 
000.00. Shipments are made from Clarksville, Lamar, Knox- 
ville Hartman and Coal Hill. The season of 1919 gave to Lamar 
the lead as to number of cars shipped. 

FARM PRODUCTS 

Cotton — Along with the rest of the South, the people of this 
part of Arkansas depend on the cotton crop for the principal livli- 
hood. Johnson County however lies in the extreme northern 
section of the cotton belt. The lands along the river and creeks 
arc most productive of the plant. It has always been grown 
however to some advantage on the hill lands and since the intro- 
duction of the modern fertilizer these rolling uplands produce 
cotton almost, if not, the equal of the bottom land crop. 

Corn — The corn grown all over the county is the second 
largest crop and second in value. 

Alfalfa — The greatest forage crop known, is mowed in 
this county four or five times a season and produces from 
three-fourths to one ton per acre. This hay plant grows best in 
the low lands. 



72 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Wheat is grown to some extent. Oats and other hay crops 
adapted to the chmate are productive and much phmted. 

Irish potatoes are the standard food crop and grow to per- 
fection anywhere. They are semi-perishible, but with poper care 
may be kept from season to season. It is possible for Irish 
potatoes to bring in much money, though they have never been 
given cooperative attention. Each farmer raises enough for his 
own use and some for the near markets. It would be possible, 
however, to raise them in great quantities, since two crops in 
one season can be easily grown. But in a country like this where so 
many major crops are produced on one land, some of them must 
fill places a-down the scale even though tho fruitage might be 
greater than another which is planted. Most of the Irish potato 
crop is raised on the mountains. 

Sweet Potatoes rank in production, size and flavor with the 
same crop in other sections of the state. They are never an entire 
failure, regardless of climatic conditions. 

Watermelons, which grow to enormous size and of superior 
flavor, are found in the patches of every farmer. Enough for 
his own use and often many for the local markets. 

Corn-Ficld Peas and Beans. — Every farmer plants one or 
more fields with the ever productive corn-field peas that hold so 
much food value for both man and animal. They are planted as 
a mid-seasoii crop, usually replacing some earlj'^ fruiting pro- 
duct. The many varieties of beans are grown successfully on a 
small scale. 

Cantaloupes — This delicious fruit-vegetable is another 
growth especially hardy on the rocky knolls of this county. It 
is said by expert authority that the famous Rocky Ford grows to 
no greater perfection in their native state of Colorado than on the 
hill lands of this section. 

Peanuts — This little ground jiea which at this time is receiv- 
ing so much attention in the south seems specially to have found 
its nativity in thc^ chemical contents of the soil here. The plant 
Yaries with the weather but failure is unknown. In favorable 
seasons, one is prone to wonder how one little pea can produce 
so many matured nuts. 



LIVE STOCK 73 

Cattle — Since the law providing for the tick eradication, 
which was introduced in the state senate by the Johnson County 
Senator, Lee Cazorl, was passed, more interest has been taken in 
the introduction of fine cattle into this county. Prior to this, 
many progressive farmers possessed breeded stock but when 
the health of the cow is almost assured they purchase w^ith more 
confidence. The Jerseys are most used for dairy purposes. 
Other splenditl registered types are the Black and White Holstein, 
Durham^, Hereford, Angus Poles, Shorthorns and others. 

Many men interested in the upbuilding of the cattle industry 
have all along brought into the local markets fine breeds. This 
record would not be complete should the name of R. D. Dunlap 
be left out in mentioning the pioneer workers for a better and 
higher standard of livestock throughout the county. 

Johnson county i)ossesscs her prorata of brecded hogs, with 
the Duroc-Jersey, Big-Boned Poland-China, O. I. C. and Im- 
proved Poland-China, respectively, in preference. There is, 
perhaps, not one of the "razorback" variety, so much talked of 
in other states with reference to Arkansas, in Johnson county. 



74 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



CHURCHES 

Together with the eoniing of our pioneers and their idea of 
setthng a country in which to Hve, rear their children and make 
a place for their successors, came the old family Bible and a 
Christian creed. No matter how humble the home, and most of 
them were humble, this Book was given a place on the center 
table in the best room in the house, if there were more than one, 
if not it still held vantage in the cabin. 

In this same book each denomination saw their faith clearly 
written and those truths therein binding them to a future; while 
between the pages of the old and the new testaments was chron- 
icled births and deaths of one or two or perhaps several gener- 
ations, thus binding them to a past in a land from which they 
came. 

The first move of any community as soon as a few families 
were close enough to constitute a neighborhood was to encourage 
religion. Rev. Cephas Washburn of the Presbyterian Mission 
among the Cherokee Indians was the first man, so far as known, 
to deliver a sermon in this part of Arkansas. Itinerant ministers, 
however, jireachcd here and there among the settlers. 

Following tills trancient method of worship came the greater 
and more effective camp meetings. For this form of service 
u spot was selected as centrally located as possible with a spring 
or some good water near. Poles were cut from the forest and 
propjx d upright some eight or ten feet apart and in mmibers 
sufficient to make space for the crowd anticipated. On top 
of these poles, limbs and branches with foliage were interwoven, 
thus forming a fitting roof. People came from far and near 
and camjjed, during the intervals of the meetings. Usually cone 
or wigwam shaped enclosures were made for each family. Small 
saplings were hewn down and placed with the upper ends to- 
gether, at a common centre, while on the ground they were 
spread in a circle, and, many times, "clap-boarded" around. 
These were used for personal belongings and also a place in 
which to sleep. Time has erased every trace of these picturesque 



CHURCHES 75 

l)laccs of worsliij). Loss Ihaii a half dozen persons, \vli» 
were children llien and tolteriui^ in d()tai>e now, are left lo poini 
out the si)()ls. 

On the loj) of the hill west of Clarksville where today is 
buried hundreds of the county's dead, and known as Oakland 
Cemetery was the first Methodist camp meetini* i^round. The 
exact spot of tliis rustic temi)le may be located on the north side 
of the cemetery about two hundred and fifty fe^'t south from the 
east and west driveway and sixty feet west from Main streel 
running north and south. A i)atiiway wound down the hill to the 
east across the old roadway from Clarksville to Spadra. and im- 
mediately at the foot of the hill was a si)rin<4 of water that "never 
went dry." This sprin<* is still t*ivini>" her draui^hls to the surface 
thout^h few of today know that the old i)ump standing i)y the 
road is covering a onco welcome bubbling of water. When this 
c'^.m]) was located we do not know, but in 1843 we learn that H 
was aban(k)ned and another place selected at Bethlehem where 
for thirty years revivals were held. 

At the foot of Stillwell Mountain four miks north of 
Clarksville flows a yellow streamlet of caleabrite water known 
today as Hudson Springs. It was here that the Cumberland 
Presbyterians chose to build an arbor and hold their meetings. 
Associated with these gatherings were the Reverends Anderson 
Cox and John Buchanan. 

IHE METHODIST EPISCOPAL .CHURCH 
OE CLARKSVILLE 

The first pastoral charge of the Methodist Church at Clarks- 
ville, so far as is known, was in LSIl. The first church building 
was erected in 1843 and stood on the north east corner of the 
block on which the present building stands. It was a small frame 
oblong house with a belfry on the center of the front gable 
after the fashion of many small churches of today. By 
number it was located on Lot 5, Block G, and was purchased from 
Lorenzo (Shirks for the sum of thirty-five dollars. The trnstees at 
that time were Messrs. 44iomas Powers, Robt. Latimer, Andrew 
Brown, James P. King, and Samuel Strayhorn. 

Their place of worship, prior to this was doubtless the 
old camp meeting ground west of the city. After the 
camp meeting place was moved to Bethlehem this plot of 



76 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

ground was deeded Nov. 16, 1848, by John Jacob Dorsey to the 
Methodist Church, for a burying ground. The oldest stone 
in this graveyard is dated 1844. 

After seventeen years of occupancy this httle building be- 
came inadequate, therefore the site of an old saw mill on the west 
front of the same block was purchased on Dec. 15, 1859, from 
Jacob and Sarah Rogers for the sum of one hundred and twenty- 
five dollars. The trustees at this time were Messrs. Thomas 
Powers, Jacob Rogers, Anthony Lewis, Moreau Rose, Redmond 
Rogers, Tolliver G. Blackard, John G. Connelly, Henry B. Hayes 
and Thomas K. May. 

This church almost complete, was burned when the Federals 
evacuated Clarksville on May 19, 1863. Fifty years later the 
United States Government paid $4,400 for the destruction. 

From the foundation of this incomplete building rose another 
in 1870 — a duplicate of the former. Bishop Wilham Wight- 
man officiated at the dedication of this new church in November 
1872 with Rev. H. R. With-rs as the pastor. In a letter written 
by the Bishop to the Western Metho(Ust the following, relative to 
the dedication, is found: "At Clarksville on Thursday night 1 ded- 
icated a brick church, large and handsome, with spire and bell. 
The fidl amount to meet the remaining debt was subscribed 
during the day and at the dedication service at night. Here one 
©f the newly appointed trustees of the Central University (Vand- 
erbilt University), Judge W. W. Floyd, was our host." 

This substantial building stood for a period of forty yeai-^ 
with but few changes. The only noticeable one was made in the 
latter pait of the '80's when the belfry which first pointed upward 
from the center front of the roof was torn down and rebuilt more 
proportionate and pretentious from the east front corner of the 
top. 

Rev. Henry Ha nes worth was the last pastor to serve in the 
old churcli and doubtless he was the prime factor in the original 
project, which was brought into action in 1909, to tear down the 
old church building and replace it with a new and modern one. 
He and his co-workers met with much opposition, but undaunted 
by objectors, who in most instances were sentimentalists, they 
be'^"^ Ihe work and soon a handsome and commodious structure, 
tlie pride of the town, was being built of the beautiful Cabin Creek 
stone. It was estimated to have cost $30,000, but todav it could 



CHURCHES 7! 

iiol bo duplicated for loss than .1<()(),0()().()0. The finishini* of this 
church covered a i)eriod of several years. I^isho]) McCoy offic- 
iated at the layiui* of the corn:.'r stone during the pastorate of Rev, 
J. J. Galloway in 1912. Otlier pastors who have had a part in the 
final finishinj4 of the l)uildin<f were Revs. J. F. E. Rates and H. I.. 
Wade. On Sunday morning April 15, 1917, Rev. Stonewall And- 
erson, D. D., Presided at the formal dedication with "The Function 
of the Churcli" as his subject. Rev. H. L. ^Yade, one of the best 
loved ministers the church has ever had, was the pastor. 

The Finance Committee during the entire building operation 
was composed of two faithful gentlemen. Judge Hugh Rasham 
and R. P. McKennon. The Ruilding Committee was. Judge J. J. 
Montgomery, R. H. McKennon, T. E. May, J. W. Coffman, Dr. W. 
R. Hunt, J W. Lcmley and A. J. demons. 

Since tlie organization of this Methodist Church in Clarksville 
the following pastors have served in the order here given. In 
1841, Juba Easterbrook; in 1842, J. F. Fruslow and M. R. Lowry; 
in 1843, W. T. Anderson; 1845, James \Y. Shipman; 1846, Nathan 
Taylor; 1847, John M. Steel; 1848, W. A. Cobb; 1849, J. J. Pit- 
man; 1851, Young Ewing; 1852, ^Y. T. Thornberry; 1853, C. M. 
Stover; 1854, James D. Andrews; 1856, James L. Denton; 1857, 
John M. Denton; 1858, Geo. Emmet; 1859, Rurwell Lee; 1860, C. 
M. Stover; 1861, ^Yilliam Shepard; 1862, \Yilliam Robins; 1865, 
Russell Rcneau; 1868, C. H. Gregory; 1869, N. Futrall; 1871, R 
\Yilliams. 

Clarksville station was formed in 1872 with H. R. ^Yithers as 
the first pastor. I. E. Rurrow, J. J. Roberts, T. M. C. Rirming- 
ham, Josephus Loving, R. H. Greathouse, S. H. Rabcock, J. \Y. 
Kaigler, J. L. Massey, J. \Y. Roswell, AY. D. Matthews, N. Futrall, 
R. M. Traylor, J. A. Walden. J. R. Harvey, Stonewall Anderson, \Y. 
F. \Yilson, G. AY. Hill, N. R. Fizer, J. C. Sligli, J. H. Glass, H. 
Hanesworth, J. J. Galloway, J. F. E. Rates, H. L. AYade, J. T, 
AYilcoxon and J. R. Evans. 

The Annual Conference of the Methodist Church has been 
entertained in Clarksville five times during the eighty years of its 
organization. First in 1843 when the first little church was 
new. Rishop Roberts presided. In 1870 when the second build- 
ing was just complete, Rishop Keener was in the chair. In 1883 
with Rishop Cranberry; in 1893 with Rishop Keener again in the 



78 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

pulpit and in 1918 in the buildini^ now standing when Bishop 
Edwin D. Moiizon presided. 

The Methodist Magnet is a church paper pubhshed at inter- 
vals by the members. 

AUXILIARIES 
Auxiliaries of this church have been organized from time to 
£ime. The first organization of tlie kind was the Ladies Aid 
Society which held its first meeting in the church at five o'clock 
0n April 19, 1875. Rev. I. L. Burrow, the pastor, presided. The 
following women were the charter members: Mesdames Lou 
Floyd, Mat tie Adkins, Eliza Gosset, Lydc Hill, Lit Connelly, Mary 
Pennington and Mary Harley. The officers elected were Pres., 
Mrs. Mary Pennington; Sec, Mrs. Mattie Adkins, Treas., Mrs. 
Lyde Hill. Two years later the roll contained the following 
names, — Mesdames Mary Puckett, Eliza Gossett, Mary Penning- 
ton, Lyde Hill, Mattie Adkins, Lou Floyd, Mary Harley, Emma 
Cravens, Maggie McKennon, Mary May, Eliza Brown, Lit Con- 
aelly, Mollic Rose, Z. G. Simpson, C. Roberts, Mary Peacock, Bet- 
tie Littlepage, Mary Maffitt, Eliza Adams, Fannie Miller, 
Amanda Harley and Misses Sallie McKennon, Mollie Colthorp, 
Amanda Jarnagin, Lou McConnell, Susie Reed, Annie Reed and 
Sallie Goens. A Missionary Societj^ was also organized in the 
'SO's but data of this society is not at hand. Mrs. Ori Jamison 
was its faithful president for many years. She was also president 
of the District Missionary Society for a long ])eriod. 

THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
OF CLARKSVILLE 

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Clarksville was or- 
ganized in 1840 under the leadership of Rev. Anderson Cox. 
The meetings of this congregation were held monthly for several 
years in the County Court House, and later in the upper story of 
the old Hershey building on the south side of East Main street 
oext door to the McConnell drug store on the corner. For eigh- 
teen years this struggling little congregation was without a home 
of its own. There came a time when a wave of prosperity was 
sweej)ing the \illage. A brick kiln had been located near and many 
houses were being ])uilt. This church people also joined in the 



CHURCHES 79 

progress and on June 3, 1858, purehased a lot 50 x 70 feet from 
B. F. Hershey for the sum of one hundred dollars. It is desig- 
nated at Lot 10, Block 1, in the town of Clarksville. It can be 
better located when referred to as the corner of Cravens and 
Cherry streets. The trustees at the time of the purchase were 
Messrs. Wesley Garrett, James H. Jones, Anderson Cox, William 
Rudd, James B. Brown and Wilson G. Taylor. The building cov- 
ering the lot was an ol)long, spacious room, with the belfry on 
the center front. Rev. John Buchanan delivered the dedicatory 
sermon while Rev. Anderson Cox was the pastor. This church 
was used during the war of the '60's as the main hospital for 
each army as thej' in turn occupied the town. Thus this place of 
worship stood intact for fifty-five years. Many persons grew to 
maturity and died, having worshipped in no other church, ])ut the 
hand of progress finally caught the much loved old building. 
New people came who saw onh'^ the brick and mortar, inadequate 
and old-fashioned, therefore during the j)ast{)rale of Rev. Edwin 
H. Liles, in 1904, an extensive remodeling took place and a pipe 
organ was installed. 

With the coming of the College to Clarksville in 1891 the 
Presbjierians began to feel the responsibility and went to 
work to further the advancement which began at that time. 
Their strength in membership grew as well as their ability, 
and now, after thirty years, this church is one of the strongest 
and richest in the state. An edifice standing on the corner of 
College Avenue and Cherry Street is today almost complete, the 
most resplendent building in the city, erected at a cost of .$100, 
000. On either side of the main entrance are marble tablets — 
one with the date of the church organization and the name of its 
organizer, Rev. Anderson Cox, who "builded better than he knew." 
The other gives the date, 1919, when the ])resent building was be- 
gun wuth the name of Rev. Elbert Hefner, the i)aslor who has 
labored so untiringly for its completion. 

The corner stone was lowered into place on December 9, 
1919, by the Masonic Fraternity of this city, J. W. Sallis officiat- 
ing, he having been previously appointed by tht> Grand Master of 
the Grand Lodge F. and A. M. of the Grand Jurisdiction of 
Arkansas. 

This church in 1900, as did the great body of Cumberlands 
over the South, submerged its identity into that of the parent or- 



80 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

ganizatioii of the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. Following this 
action came a law suit over the church property, for there was 
some dissension. That which belonged immediately to the 
church was given to the majority membership, they being in 
favor of the change. The College however, because of the word- 
ing of the deed retained the name of Cumberland. Recently that 
too has been overcome and the institution is today known as 
"The College of the Ozarks." 

Ministers who have occupied the pulpit for this organiza- 
lion from the beginning are as follows: Revs. Anderson Cox, 
P. M. Latta, J. D. Boone, \Y. J. Faust, John Buchanan, N. G. Nunn, 
H. B. Milner, S. H. Buchanan, C. E. Stokes, Dr. F. R. Earle. J. 

A. Coidey, J. R. George, ^Y. C. ^Yheat, E. H. Liles, G. D. Crawford, 
W. L. Darby, R. E. Robinson and Elbert Hefner. 

THE BAPTIST CHURCH 

The Baptist Church at Clarksville was organized in Septem- 
ber of 1893. Rev. Maynard and Rev. \Yelcher were the ministers 
who assisted those citizens, banded together, to become a part 
of the great denomination of Baptists. Mr. and Mrs. C. B. 
Rhodes, Mr. and Mrs. AY. S. Jett, Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Jett, A. M. 
McLane, Mrs. Sarah Rogers, Mrs. Emma Davis and Mr. and Mrs. 
W. H. Langford were early members to unite with this organiza- 
tion. The lot on which the neat little frame church house is 
standing was given by Mrs. Sarah Rogers and is located on the 
northeast comer of Cherry street and Central avenue. The Aid 
and Missionary Society of this church was enrolled sometime 
during the year 1897 with Mrs. Sarah Rogers as the first president. 
Mrs. Rogers served until her death two years later, Avhen Mrs. C. 

B. Rhodes was chosen to fill her place. 

OTHER PROTESTANT CHURCHES 
Doubtless there were many other protestant churches in the 
county in pre-war days but the records of those given are the only 
available ones. 

Ewing Seminary, while built for a school, as were many at 
that time, was used for a church, and for many years Rev. Ander- 
son Cox filled that indjjit once a month, as did other ministers 
of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church from time to time. 
After this house was burned the congregation moved their 



CHIRCHES 81 

membership to Cabin Creek and thus founded the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church there. In that same neigliborhood 
between the present town of Lamar and IMney (a'eek was a 
little Methodist ciuuTh called Pleasant Grove. While this was 
used for both a school house and church we learn that it was ])ri- 
vatc pi'operty owned jointly by four proi^i'essivc citizens, S. H. 
Cazort, Thomas Madden, Harvey Easly and Oren Wallace. 

Saiem, at Haijarville, a Methodist Church of early origin, had 
on its roll the names of several i)rominent i)ersons of tiiat upper 
Piney neighborhood. A few of them were, S. 1). Price, Jose])li 
Artkins, John Rodgers, I. D. Towell, J. N. Joluison. .1. L. .loyner, 
and A. J. Frazier. 

A Methodist Church nortli of Coal Hill was organized in 1857. 

The GrcLMibriar church near Clarksville was Ijuill on laud 
bought from Vincent Wallace for the sum of -$1 ().()(). The 
trustees at that time were men wliose names still ring familiar — 
David Clark, L. G. Blackard, Wm. Hlackard, Daniel Farmer and 
Vincent Wallace. The building was erected just after the war 
and stood on the flat land to the south one-lialf mile below where 
(he substantial concrete one is now located on the hill-top. 

At Shady Grove, under the influence of the venerable Ander- 
S(Hi Cox, a Cumberland Presbyterian membership united and held 
their meetings in ])re-war days in a remodeled barn. This con- 
gregation built a church soon after jjeace v/as made. 

Rev. Cox with his unbounded energy also organized and 
caused to be built a church at Lone Pine. 

During the years between '64 and the early '7()'s the country 
was struggling under devastation, and but little public building" 
was done. Every one was busy readjusting personal affairs, and, 
too, many valuable citizens were no more, therefore not until 
after eight or ten years had passed did post war finances permit 
much public expenditure. 

The year '71 found the Methodists in Clarksville completing' 
the church following the one which was burned in "(i'J. 

Pine Grove, near Piney Creek, in 1873, was probably the first 
Bai)tist Church in the county. A small house was put uj) and 
such names as John Hickey, Joe Ragon, .lohn Brown. Harve 
Ragon, William Mays and McMinn, were connected with its mem- 
bersliip. 



82 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The Oakland neighborhood near Cabin Creek also early in 
the '80's organized into a Baptist chnrch and enrolled many mem- 
bers. Among them are fonnd the names of James Eldridge, D. 
A. Escnige, Louis Martin and Mrs. Emma Davis. 

PRESBYTERIAN CHLRCH AND THE SCHOOL 
HOUSE AT HARMONY 

At the loot of the Mulberry Mountain on upper Horsebead 
creek a dozen families located in the '30's and in 1840 built a log 
churcli. This settlement was referred to by their chosen naine 
of Harmony. And indeed there must have been Harmony for 
the Methodisls. Presbyterians and Baptists used this church hous? 
in common for eighteen years. 

But finally when the old house liad served its purpose and 
was torn away a new frame building was erected in its place but 
this time the building was owned and dedicated by the Cumber- 
land Presbyterians. Thus this church became a part of that 
great protestant faith and has continued without secession or dis- 
sension through the seventy-five years since its beginning, the 
only organized church in that neighborhood. And when the vast 
body of Cumberlands submerged into the parent organization of 
llie Presbyterians they too, without controversy, joined the ma- 
jority movement. 

This second church house served for a time as a school 
house too, but a few years later a school house and lodge rooms 
were built as one, with the school below and the lodge rooms in 
the second story. This building is still standing and is in use. 
The church is gone and in its stead there stands today one built of 
native stone, prelentious and commodious, one of the best church- 
es in the county with an entrance vestibule, a spacious auditorium 
with oak pews, a well-furnished altar place and a mezzanine at 
tile back which is built for the seating of approximately fifty 
])ersons. The memorial windows are works of art commemorat- 
ed to several of those who endured the hardships of pioneering 
and founded the Christian work of the neighborhood. The build- 
ing of this last church w^as going on in 1915-16. It was formally 
dedicated on June 27, 1920. Rev J. J. Partain was the pastor. 
Dr. W. T. Thurman of Piggott delivered the sermon of the occa- 
sion, while the state chairman of Home Missions, Dr. C. E. Hayes 
of Hot Springs, was master of ceremonies. Dr. Elbert Hefner of 



CHURCHES 83 

Clarksvillc also assisUd. The Sunday alkriuKiii was beautiful 
and a large crowd was in attendance. 

The first Sunday School at Harmony was rallied to existence 
in the little loi> hut in I.SIS. We are told that three i^cntlemen 
from Clarksvillc, Redmond Roofers, Aui^ustus M. \\'ard and Gus 
Goodridge assisted in the organization. T\)c nanu- of '"Horse- 
head Union Sunday School"" was a fitting cai)lion. After eigh- 
teen years that did not sccin wide enough in scope and the 
name Horsehead, which was only the name of the creek, was 
dropped and the title changed to "Western Union Sunday School." 
In 190(1 was again changed to the "Harmony I'nioii Sunday 
School." 

CHURCHES RUILT 
Churches built din'ing the latter i)arl of the pa>l century or 
the early days of the i)resent were, in part, as follows; 
Metho(hst Church. Knoxville, June 13, 1885. 
Cumberland Prcsl)yterian. Lamar, August iSO. 1NS7. 
Christian Church, Coal Hill, 1890. 
Missionary Raptist Church, Piney, 1891. 
Methodist Episcopal. Lamar, March (i, 1893. 
Cumberland Presbyterian. Coal Hill, July 13. ISIG. 
Methodist Episcoj)al. Coal Hill, March 11. 189ii. 
Missionary Raptist. New. Garden, LaniLir. 19M(i. 
Missionary Ra])tist. Knoxville, Dec. (>, 1901. 
Methodist Episcoi)al. Spadra, March 30, 1903 
Missionary Raptist. Union Grove, Eeb. 10. 19(Hi. 

CATH( )LIC CHURCHES 
The Catholic or Holy Redeemer Church at Clarksvillc was 
organized sometime during the early '8(rs. Eather Mathews 
was the first pastor and it was by his faithful efforts, supported by 
two excellent women. Misses Ada and Anne Hite, that the first and 
present building was a |)ossibility. The Misses Hite began the 
actual work one afternoon by securing a three hundred dollar sub- 
scription from individuals in the town of Clarksville. The mem- 
bership at that time constituted Erank Oberle, John Holpert, B. 
C. Kleva, E. Werner, (his Speller, Mathew Flynn. Mike Leib and 
the Misses Hite. The families of these men also l)fcame mem- 
bers therefore giving the little church an encouraging out-look. 



84 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

One of the most beautiful plots of ground in the town was 
purchased from Mrs. Eva Rogers, Father Thomas Keller repre- 
senting the church. This properly is located on the north side of 
East Main Street on the hill just beyond the bridge across Spadra 
Creek. Holy Redeemer Church, a modest little frame house, 
stands with its shining cross pointing upward on the highest part 
of the hill. The grounds with evergreens and concrete w^alks, a 
picturesque fountain with fisli and flowers, together with the 
rectory, school house and other buiklings. make this quite a pretty 
jdace. 

For a number of years Sister Eucy Albertine mothered a 
l)arochial school of a score or more of children. This was with- 
drawn early in the year 1920 when Sister Eucy was given a larger 
scope for acti\ ity in St. Scliolastica. 

Among the missions bi'longing to the Holy Redeemer Church 
at Clarksville are the Sacred Heart Church, Hartman; St. Mathews 
Coal Hill; and a station each at Jamestown and Montana. 

The Sacred Heart Chiu'ch near Hartman is far the largest of 
the missions and was possibly the first Catholic organization in 
Johnson county, having bei'U a charge out from the Alius church 
as early as 1880. One of this county's most enterprising citizens, 
Hugo Oberste. was the leading spirit in the founding of this now 
flourishing liltk- mission. The first building, i)ut up in the '80's, 
has long since been given over to the schools and another, larger, 
with a tall sj)ire rising above the vestibule place, can be seen 
on the top of the hill for miles around. This church is one of 
the few rural churches in Arkansas that can boast of a ])ipe organ, 
the installation of which has doubtless encouraged musical talent, 
for this congregation has a splendid choir. 

Priests who have served in turn in Clarksville and missions 
are the following: Fathers Mathews, Joseph, Othmar, Placidus, 
Thomas, Maurus. Aloysius and Hoyt. The present pastor. Father 
Eawrence Hoyt. O. S. R., has been with this people for sixteen 
years and is not only much loved by his own congregation but by 
the citizenship at large. He was for a time i)residcnt of the Ger- 
man Catholic Immigration Committee. He is all American 
big hearted atid generous. 



SCHOOLS 

D()iil)IU'.ss llu" firsl sfliool ever laiii^hl in this ])art of Arkan- 
sas was back in U-rritorial days when Old l)\vi5j;Iil was abandoned 
by the Missionaries. 

A. W. Lyon, who had come from New Jersey in the year 1828, 
was the instructor. Lhis \vas i)rol)ably kite in 18;'2 or '33, fol- 
lowing the reniDval of llie Missionaries to the Indian Territory. 
Mr. Lyon boarded a nuni])er of the boys from different i)arts of 
Arkansas. 

General All)erl Pike, in his autobioiJirai)hy slates that .he 
taught school in 1833, on Piney Creek in Johnson county. 11 
V Jil be remembered that Johnson county was formed in 'f)3, 
hence the school taught by (ien. Pike was within the present limits 
of the county. 

In the thinly settled districts the education of the children 
w;,s often quite limited, nevertheless almost all Hk parents were 
anxious for their children to receive every advantage possible. 
And while an education to most of them meant "reading and 
'riting and 'rithnutic,"' they were ready and willing to pay the 
])rice for that. 

Wlierever there were enough families to furnish fifteen or 
twenty children of school age. some itinerant teacher found 
his way into tliat locality and was welcomed l)y the people. 
Sometimes a log dwelling was us^d for these schools but more 
often a little church liad been ])uilt in the neighl)orho;)d and these 
early pedagogues wert> always \\elc()nie to use that. 

They were usually of logs and the pojjular size was 18x20 ft. 
A big fire place was ])r()vi(ktl at one end and the older boys of 
the school were given turns at securing wood if the term extend- 
ed to the cool days. 

These transient teachers were nearly always strangers but as 
a rule they were honest and dei)endable. 

The Arkansas legislature of 1843 ])assed a law for a i)ublic 
school system but it did not provide for the necessary taxation to 
make it practical. It formed a foundation, however, for future 
building. It w.is the beginning of the system in use today. For 
twenty years and more after this law was i)assed the itinerant 



86 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

gentlemen were still finding their way from place to place 
wherever a population afforded a monetary consideration for 
their services. 

The "Little Red School House", still standing today as a resi- 
dence on the cast side of Cravens Am\. across Sevier St., south of 
the McConneil Jjlock, was huilt in tin forties. It was here 
that many of the young i)eople of earlier days attended school. 
Education, which always follows cIosl'Iv in the wake of civiliza- 
tion, was making some strides in Arkansas when the past century 
had half roiled iroimd. 

The Ewing Presbytery of the ('.Liniiierland Presbyterian 
church began Ut realize the need for fittini; the youth of this part 
of the state for higher places in life. Sonu counties were sup- 
porting institutions for their future citizens! lip and the sentiment 
in Johnson county was strong for the sch:; )!. 

A spot in a thickly settled district, at least it was the most 
populous of the s])arsely jjopulated c<)unl\. was chosen on which 
to build, and in accord with the decisitjn of the Presbytery, trus- 
tees were appointed, to-wit: Augustus M. Ward, F. F. \Villiam- 
son, E. Roach, Seth P. Howell, Sidney 11 Cazort, O. Wallace, 
Thos. Maddsn, T. I. Perry and T. M. P>lackard. These trustees 
purchased a tract of of land near Little Pin y which was formerly 
the Wm. Adams homestead, but at that tinn the property of Geo. 
W. Taylor. This purchase was ma<le on July 3L 1858. The 
building was erected at once, and perhaps three years passed 
with as many terms of school, before the jjeriod of the Civil War 
became too intense for so peaceful an occupation as school teach- 
ing to continuj. 

The first instructor at Ewing was a young man from Cane 
Hill College whose name was James Crawfoi'd. When the state 
of Arkansas voted to cast her lot with tlie southern cause and 
volunteers \\-ere called for. Prof. Crawford went back to his for- 
mer home at Cane Hill and enlisted. When the regiment to 
which he belonged was camped on lower Sj)a(lra, he was taken 
ill and di:d. 

The next instructor at the Seminary wa> a Presbyterian min- 
ister, also from Cane Hill, F. M. Latta. Rev. Latta later moved 
to Clarksville. Mrs. Latta was formerly a Miss Willis. Their 
son, a fine young fellow, graduated from Washington University 
and afterwards went to Mexico Citv where he finally made his 



SCHOOLS 87 

home. Rev. Latla i)iirchased the old .hiiiies Cravens residence 
and had huill, in pari, the present home of Mr. and Mrs. T. J. 
Kendriek. 

The next term at Ewinij; was taught l)y an eminent ('(hieator, 
a grachiate from I'rineeton Prof. C. W. Stuekey. This term was 
not finished, tlioui^h his efforts were of a hii^h order, hut the 
Federal troops were advaneiui^ and it was tlioui*ht |)iiidenl to 
close the school. 

Ewiui^ Seminary hurned a few years after the war. Tiic 
old foundation still remains. The well of excellent water, 
with a hucket and rope, and the old shed ahove, is today as it 
was in the long time ago. Many of those who receivetl their 
early training at old Ewing Seminary, were afterwards promi- 
nent in the social and political life of the country. 

It will he noted douhtless that all the higher schools over tlie 
country at large had heen for male children only. No educa- 
tion for the girls. It must he remembered however, that as 
early as 1820 when the first settlers were making their way into 
the wilderness of Arkansas, in Boston, Mass. the dangerous in- 
novation of permitting girl children to learn more than reading, 
writing and the "Sampler," which was their diploma, was caus- 
ing many heated discussions and much anxiety. It was either 
in 1822 or '23 at a town meeting in Northampton, Mass. it was de- 
cided that the public schools should be open to girls as well as 
boys. Therefore, no wonder that in those days of slow travel, 
no telegraph wires, no telephones, and even no trains to connect 
Arkansas with that radical state of Massachusetts, that the female 
children of Arkansas were subject to the confines of a grade even 
lower than the "Sampler" degree. But when once these jittle 
women were reluctantly permitted into the sacred confines of 
the mysteries of book learning, they were very like the fox, who 
when once his nose is inside the door, is soon standing free within. 

Therefore, to one looking back today, it would seem as if 
those first little women had left the door wide o])en and let the 
whole tribe in. For, to the credit of thos- old i)rogenitors, be it 
said that the year following the building of Ewing Seminary, it 
was voted to erect another, even a better ouln for the young 
ladies. This Female Seminary was located at the county .seat on 
the crest of a steep hill far out on West Severe street. 



88 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

This Seminary for Young Ladies was made spacious with 
four large rooms, one of which was given to piano instruction. 

Prof. Benhani, Miss Benham, Misses Amanda and Jennie 
Buchanan were among the literary teachers and Prof. Snider 
was instructor of music. 

Dr. Earle who liad fostered early education for the youths 
of Uu' slate at old Cane Hill, and who was foremost in every 
educational movement visited the Seminary for young ladies 
([uite often, with a douhle motive, however, for later Amanda 
Buchanan hecame Mrs. Earle. Miss Clara Earle who is today 
a teacher of ModLM'u Languages in the College of the Ozarks is a 
slaughter of Dr. and Mrs. Earle. 

Tills Seminary was used for a hospital by the Federal sol- 
diers during the Civil War, but soon after the close of hostilities 
it was burned. 

And then it was that Johnson county citizens for the first 
[huv permitted co-educational instruction. The doors of the 
little "Red School House" were opened to both young men and 
young ladies. 

The Arkansas Legislature of 1866 levied a tax sufficient for 
the employment of teachers in public schools and Clarksville was 
one of the first to take advantage of the privilege. Thereforf^ 
the following year, 1867, we find Prof. Naylor and his daughter. 
Miss Naylor teaching in a "Double Log House", which was con- 
verted for tliL- purpose from the former dwelling of A. M. NYjiitI. 
During the seventies the School Board secured th(^ lo^ver 
floor of the new Masonic building situated on the west side of 
South Fulton St. It was here that Prof. Geo. ^Y. Hill taught his 
first school in Clarksville. 

Soon after the Iron Mountain Railroad penetrated this county 
the little inland village of Clarksville was converted into a thriv- 
ing typical southern town of some twelve hundred people. The 
spirit of progress was everywliL^re prevalent and the School 
Board was not lagging for they began as early as 1879 to negotiate 
for a suitable building to designate as "The Public School." 
In 1852 A. M. Ward had built a beautiful residence which donned 
the vantage of the hill north of Clarksville and it was this that 
the School Board j)urchased in 1880. 

But this too, soon seemed inadequate, for after a lapse of a 
few years the imi)rovised school building was torn away and a 



SCHOOLS 89 

new, spacious and beautiful structure, tlie pride of the town, took 
its place. This is still standini> and is the east half of the ])resent 
Collei*e of the Ozarks' Aduiinislratiou buildiut^. Aud when that 
i^iala day arrived in which the Cumberland Presbyterian 
church again honored Johnson county by locating her college in 
Clarksville, that city glady donated this building to the new in- 
stitution. The city immediately i)repared for a new i)ublic 
school building which was located in south Clarksville facing 
north on Filmore street, the property covering the entire block. 

Albert O. Nichols taught the first term, in the new building. 
He was followed by C. T. Garrett who taught one term. This 
was in 1893. In 1894 Prof. J. W. Sallis became connected with 
the public schools of Clarksville where he was d:^stined to spend 
many long years. He was re-elected by each incoming Board 
for seventeen consecutive years. Many of those who were his 
pupils when he first entered the Clarksville schools, grew up. 
married and their children attendnl school under his superin- 
lendency. In addition to his work in the city schools he served 
the county for eighteen years as County Examiner and County 
Superintendent of Schools. Upon retiring from school work he 
entered the newspai)er ])usiness in which he is still engaged. 

Prof. Sallis is a native of Mississippi, having moved to this 
state with his parents when he was eleven years old. He re- 
ceived his education at Cane Hill College, — a college to which 
every Arkansan shoukl give homage for that institution has furn- 
ished many teachers over the state — and other states — and the 
fruits of her work are not dead, nor will they die. Even though 
the school itself was discontinued when the University of Ar- 
kansas was located at Fayetteville, it was rei)lacetl in the estab- 
lishment at Clarksville of Arkansas Cumberhiiul College, now 
known as the College of the Ozarks. 

In 1913, the board of the Public Schools of Clarksville, com- 
])osed of Dr. A. M. McKennon, President, Sanuiel Laser, R. S. 
Davis, Lee Cox, Dr. J. S. Kolb, Hon. .1. W. Coffman, fac:d a diffi- 
cult propositon. For a long tim? the taxes had ben insufficient 
to pay the number of teachers required to instruct the children 
in the crowded rooms. With that burden already heavy, they 
were brought face to face with the fact that Clarksville must have 
a new and larger school house in order to properly care for jts 
ever increasing school population. Though the task looked impos- 



90 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

sible, these gentlemen, encouraged by a body of one hundred faith- 
ful women banded together as a School Improvement Association, 
began a movement to erect a new building. The task at first 
seemed impossible, but they worked faithfully, without re- 
muneration, encountering and overcoming many difficulties. 

Between West Main and Cheri-y streets, covering a block at 
the lop of the incline above the Missouri Pacific Depot, stands one 
of the handsomest and most modern school buildings for a town 
of thirty-five hundred population in the state. It is equipped 
with all modern improvements and is second to none in arrange- 
ment and convenience. It is of red brick and is fire pr[>of. 
It is steam heated and is today housing more than 600 children. 
Roth the High School and the Grammar grades are taught there 
but the day is not far distant when they must be segregated. 

This army of children representing the younger citizenship 
of Clarksville is supplemented in numbers by the academic 
department of the College of the Ozarks. 

There were public schools located in other places in the 
county, wherever the taxes were sufficient to support one, soon 
after the law of '66 was passed. Cabin Creek, Coal Hill, Hart- 
man and Knoxville initiated the school system in the seventies 
and Spadra too, though that town had been scattered so widely 
during the past quarter of a century, owing to the various coal 
camps, that more than one school must be maintained. Cabin 
Creek and Coal Hill each have a handsome brick school building, 
erected within the i)ast few years. 

Every neighborhood now has a public graded school, and 
has terms ranging from five to nine months each year. 

Negro teachers are employed also for negro schools, equal 
i]i length to the schools for white children, in the localities where 
the negroes are in sufficient numbers. 

The Deaf Mute Institute and the Schools for the Rlind of 
Arkansas found their origin in Clarksville. Recause of the lack of 
funds they were each, in turn, moved, both of them passing 
tln'ough the same channel to Arkadelphia, thence to Little Rock. 
Four .jcres on which to place the blind school were purchased 
oji ihe toj) of the hill northeast of Clarksville, just above the lo- 
cation of the Catholic cemetery of today. 

In the year 1860, Johnson County fostered forty-nine pub- 
lic schools wdthin her borders. There are now eighty-seven 



SCHOOLS 91 

scliool distivcls in tlu' counly and a])i)r()\inuitely 125 persons 
who hold Icachers" hccnses. The averai^e atlendanee at the 
counly normals is Iwo hundred persons, 

Johnson Counly maintains Hit>h Schools a I CJarksville, 
Coal Hill and Lamar. 



COLLEGES 

Clarksville has never known a hajjpier day Ihan thai on 
which the Arkansas Synod of the Cumherland Presbyterian 
church located its slate school here. 

The Arkansas Synod had for a lon^ time considered the lo- 
cation of a College somewhere in the Slate. And when they 
held their Spring meeting of 1891 in the city of Little Rock, 
there was a contest covering a period of three days in which 
the towns of Clarksvilli^ and Hope were striving for the honor of 
bemg chosen as the home of this institute. The balance swerved 
several limes and only a final vole decided the apparently 
equal choice. This v^as on Friday. Telegrams announcjd 
the victory to Clarksville. On Saturday when the delegates re- 
turned, a band met Ihem at the station and a general jubilee 
was indulged in, during the afternoon and evening. 

The Synod selected the following Board of Trustees: A. P. 
May, President, Clarksvill?; W. C. Wheat, Secretary; Dr. J. P, 
Mitchell, Clarksville; J. H. Wofford, Morrillon; J. I). C. Cobb, 
Jonesboro; J. R. Jones, Hope; W. H. H. Shibley, Van Ruren; S. 
F. Stahl, Bentonville; D. L. Rourland, Little Rock. 

The Opening of the First Term — On Sunday morning Sep- 
tember 6, 1891 an introductory service of the opening of the 
Arkansas Cumberland College was held in the Cumberland 
church in this city. The sermon was delivered by the Rev. Mr. 
Charlton of Bentonville. Rev. J. H. Crawford of Morrilton who 
was president of the Roard and Rev. S. H. Ruchanan assisted with 
the service. 

Tuesday, September 8, 1891 the doors of this Institution were 
opened for the first time and the citizenship of this town \vas well 
represented when several hundred persons filled the auditorium 
to overflowing. 



92 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Rev. H. B. Milincr the local pastor of the C. P. church pre- 
sided. A scripture reading and prayer was offei*ed by Rev. S. H. 
Buchanan. An address of welcome was delivered by Capt. A. 
S. McKennon in a very eloquent manner. He closed his dis- 
course with the following: 

"Gentlemen, who are members of the board of trustees of 
the Cumberland College, I want to say to you that you - are 
welcome to our town and county, you students who are here 
from other sections of the county and state are welcome to our 
hearts and homes. We want you to improve the opportunities 
presented you here. Our welcome to you here is as deep as the 
ocean and as broad as the land." 

The Rev. J. H. Wofford, a member of the board, r.'i)resenting 
those concerned from the outside, responded with words of ap- 
l)reciation of the wonderful welcome the institution had received 
from the Clarksville people. He rehearsed in brief the many 
efforts of the church to establish a school of their d?nomination 
some where in the state. He said "The Cumberland Presby- 
terian Church of Arkansas has long felt the need of a live ener- 
getic school of its own in the state. In 1883 steps were taken to 
unify the three synods of the state that we might found a state 
school. They were consolidated in 1884. 

"That year Doctors Earle and Buchanan were appointed as a 
committee to work up the matter. In 1887 a committee was 
aj)j)ointed at Morrilton to raise an endowment fund. In April 
of this year the Synod met at Little Rock received bids and lo- 
cated the College here. The church proposes to offer to our 
children the facilities we deem proper for Christian education. 
We would be recreant to our trust if we failed to estal)lish such 
a college. 

"It is in our hearts and minds to lay hold of this institution, 
to put oiu' arms around it and i)ush it to idtimate success." 

Hon. J. E. Cravens representing the citizenship of the town 
ga\'e a Ijrief address in his accustomed able manner and closed 
with a few words to the entering students: "Chikh'en, do you 
know the amount of money contributed by your parents here to 
educate you? Will you neglect to improve the opportunity given 
you? No man liere expects to acquire fortune or fame; they 
are not working to that end; they are lalM)ring for you. The 
affairs of state and cliureh will rest upon you in a few years and it 



COLLEGES 93 

is your duly to (luality yourself lor that lime. Teachers, I have 
merely had an introduction to you. The ladies look well, the 
i*entlemen are ui»ly, as they should he. May this school he the 
pride of th? mIioIc country. 

The First Faculty: 

Prof. S. F. Howard, A. M., Lani>uai^e and Literature, ch. 

Prof. J. A. Laughlin, Mathematics, Latin and Greek. 

Prof. G. W. McGlumphy, Science. 

Dr. S. H. Buchanan. 1). D., Bible and Metophysics. 

Florence Wilson, M. A., Preparatory Department. 

Ella Bonds, M. A., Intermediate Department. 

Clara Earle, Primary Department. 

Eula Pierce, Director of Music. 

Hallie Wofford, Assistant Musics 

Violet Dyer, Expression. 

The numlier of students enrolled the first week was 168. 
Never was there an institution hei^un with a more loyal spirit of 
enthusiasm. Immediately followini^ the settling down to the 
curriculum routiuL'. the suhject of literary societies was taken up, 
nnd following a student body meeting, every boy and every girJ 
were enrolled in the two societies decided upon. One of these 
was given the name of Woffordian, comi)limenting J. H. Wofford 
of Morrilton and the other Mitchellean, in honor, of Dr. J. P. 
Mitcliell. 

The next move of the student body, was the organization of 
an editorial staff for the publication of a College Magazine. This 
thej' called the Mitfordian, thus combining the two societies in 
issuing that monthly publication. The first Editor in Chief was 
Paul McKennon. The first Business Manager was Henry 
Traylor. Other editors were Robert Sneed, Annie Rogers, Ethel 
Garrett and Arthur Nichols. 

It was through the efforts of this student l)ody that the State 
Contests were initiated into the Arkansas Colleges. 

The committee appointed to communicate with other col- 
leges made brief work of their project, for on November 13, 1891 
a meeting of representatives of the colleges of Arkansas met in 
Little Rock and organized. 

The Arkansas Cimiberland College has won several cujjs ol 
lionor for Oratory, Debate, Reading and Athletics. 



94 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

In 1914 the Cumberland Base Ball Team won the State 
Championshlj). 

The athletic coach for the term 1921-22 is James F. Coleman 
from Center College, Kentucky. 

Only a memory list of the names of men who have filled the 
position of chairman of the faculty can be given here: S. F. 
Howard, J. A. Laughlin, Edwin H. Lyle, G. D. Crawford, W. E. 
Johnston, J. L. Spence and H. S. Lyle. Dr. G. D. Crawford was 
doubtless connected with the corps of instructors longer than 
anj^ other person. 

I'nder the present administration of Rev. Hubert S. Lylc>. on 
July 1, 1917, the Board of Trustees of Arkansas Cumberland 
College entered into an agreement with the U. S. Presbyterian 
College Board, with headquarters in New Y'ork City, for that 
Board to direct the management of ih? College for five years. 
The College Board has since this time merged into the General 
Board of Education. 

President Lyle is an untiring and effective worker and many 
fliousands of dollars have been raised following his efforts. At 
this time a new administration building is assured. 

Since the Union of the U. S. A. and the C. P. churches the 
name of this school has been a misnomer, and has caused con- 
fusion and misunderstanding. During the meeting of the Ar- 
kansas Synod in Hot Springs in October of 1920 the name was 
changed to The College of the Ozarks, that being the one sug- 
gested by friends of the school in the East. 

There was a sentiment among those who remembered the 
lifelim? loyalty of Dr. Karle to the college work of this and other 
schools of this state, to name the institution The Earle College. 
By a majority vote, however, th?y chose The College of the 
Ozarks. 

The College holds a charter from the stale of Arkansas 
authorizing it to confer the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts, 
Bachelor of Music, l>achelor of Expression. Honorary degrees 
of Doctor of Divinity are also conferred. 

The Campus of the College contains ten acres situated on 
llie beautiful hill overlooking the principal part of the town. The 
view stretches awa}'^ to the Arkansas river four miles south, with a 
background of the Ozark mountains rising far away to the north. 

The main administration building originallv given bv the 



COLLEGES 95 

town, is standiiii4 today as the east half of the college. In ahout 
the year 1898 the west portion Avas erected. 

The school is co-educational. A i*irls' Dormitory, Grove 
Hall, was erected in 1914. It is a modern, well arranged, and 
well equipped huilding. The hoys' Dormitory is a large frame 
huilding on College Hill directly north of the Campus. A 
residence on College avenue near the Campus on the' east is also 
used for the young men students. 

The foundation for a new dormitory for young men has 
been laid on the campus liut owing to lack of funds has not yet 
been completed. 

The necessary funds have been subscribed and plans made 
possible for a new administration building to he erected in 1922. 

1919-20 FACULTY 

Rev. Hubert S. Lyle, M. A., D. D., (Maryville College; Auburn 
Theo. Seminary), President. 

Rev. Dennis W. Crawford, M. A., (Maryville College; Mc- 
Cormick Theo. Seminary; University of Cincinnati), Dean, and 
History. 

Gorman B. King, B. S., (A. C. College; University of Cincin- 
nati), Mathematics and English. 

Rev. Frank P. Hiner, B. A., (N. J. State Normal; Princeton 
University), Philosophy and English. 

Harold Irvin Donnelly, M. A., (Wooster College; Princeton 
Theo. Seminary; Sorbonne University, France), Principal Normal 
Training Department. 

Robert Berry Donnelly, Ph. B., (Woooster Colleg), Physical 
Education and Science. 

First Lieut. Thomas Latham Smith, B. S., (Mt. HLTmon 
School; Wooster College), Mathematics and Science. 

Miss Clara Earle, B. A., (University of Arkansas; Studied in 
Paris, Madrid), Modern Language. 

Mrs. Minerva Viola Sanford, M. A., (Baldwin University), 
Latin. 

Miss Bessie Lynn Brown, B. A., (Huron College; Rollins 
College), Preparatory English. 

Miss Falba Foote, B. S., (Miss. Indust. Institute and College 
of Chicago University), Home Economics. 

Miss Julia Ann Skillern, (Galloway College; Cincinnati Art 
Academy), Art. 



96 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Miss Isabelle Mae Ward, B. A., (Park College; Illinois State 
Xornial), Critic Teacher Grammar Department. 

Miss Eva Mackey, (Woostcr College; Oberlin College), Critic 
Teacher Primary Department. 

Miss Virginia Poynor, (Hardin Conservatory; New York 
School Music and Arts; Emit Liebling, Chicago; State Certificate 
Arkansas Music Teachers Associatoin), Piano, Mandolhi. Har- 
mony, Pipe Organ. 

Miss Blanche M. Kellcy, (Emporia College; New York School 
Music and Arts), Expression, Voice, Public School Music. 

Miss Julia Ann Skillern, ((ialloway College; Cincinnati Con- 
servatory of Music), Violin, Orchestra, Piano. 

Mrs. Nellie B. Atwater, (Lake Erie College; Wooster 
College), House Mother. 

Allie Milton Shelton, (A. C. College), Superintendent of 
Grounds and Buildings. 

Rev. Dennis W. Crawford, Registrar. 

Miss Bessie Lynn Brown, Mrs. Minerva Viola Sanford, Li- 
brarians. 

Robert Berry Donnelly, Athletic Coach and Military Drill. 

Miss Fal])a Foote, Manager Co-operative Boarding Club. 

Mrs. B. W. Foote, Asst. Manager Co-operative Boarding Club. 

Miss Eva Mackey, Physical Director of Girls. 

Gorman B. King, Secretary of Faculty. 

Miss Cccile Burns, President's Secretary and Asst. Treasurer. 

Allie Milton Shelton, Proctor Boys' Dormitory. 

Dennis W. Crawford, Harold Irvin Donnelly, Robert Berry 
Donnelly, Thomas L. Smith, Allie M. Shelton, Field Representa- 
tives. 

First National Bank, Clarksvillc, General Treasurer. 

W. H. H. Shibley, Van Buren, Endowment Treasurer. 

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 
During Commencement in June of 1921, the Alumni Associ- 
ation of the College of tlie Ozarks was organized and the follow- 
ing officers elected: Mrs. Cooper Langford, president; Prof. 
Gorman B. King, vice-president; Mrs. Chas. Eubanks, secretary- 
treasurer; A. D. Nichols, Mrs. H. W. Collier, Miss Belle Miller, 
executive committee. 



COLLEGES 97 

HAdAPA'ILLE ACADEMY 

The inland villat*c' of Hat>arville is Ihc iionio of one of the 
Soulhcrn Baptist Mountain Acadeniys. It is a Christian co- 
educational school, located in Johnson county in \\)\{). This neat 
and commodious hrick huildinif is standini> on a Ijeautiful ten 
acre plot in the foothills of the Ozarks. The first term opened 
October 8, 1919. Ninety-two students were enrolled. The 
faculty: Prof. W, O. Taylor, Principal, and teacher of Latin, 
Mathematics and Bible; Miss Stella Eubanks, Enij;lish and 
History; Miss Carrie Farris, Intermediate and Primary De])art- 
ments. 

ORGANIZATIONS 

MASONIC BODIES 

Almpst simultaneously with the churches and schools of a 
country comes the organization of fraternal bodies. As is the 
custom in most protestant communities the ancient order of Free 
and Accepted Masons was the first to be established in Johnson 
count}'. 

Clarksville was little more than a name, — a court house, per- 
haps a half dozen stores and a dozen log residences when the 
first Blue Lodge, No. 5, working under the jurisdiction of the 
(irand Lodge of Arkansas, was established. When the Masonic 
Temple at Little Rock burned some time during the middle of 
the past century the records of this lodge were destroyed. There- 
fore, the exact date of organization is not known. Neither is the 
lime or reason for its abandonment known. 

From the records of Franklin Lodge No. 9 of Morrison's 
Bluff, Johnson County (Johnson County at that time embraced 
a part of what is now Logan County), we learn that as early as 
1845 members of the defunct lodge at Clarksville were received 
as members there. The gentlemen who went from Lodge No. 
5 were Augustus M. Ward, L. C. Howell, Wm. M. Adams, B. G. 
Clark, George Powell, J. N. Reynolds, Clayton R. Clark, L. L. 
Green, D. Hewey, J. Moreland, George Garrett, James Carnes. J. 
S. Houston, Oliver C. Woodey and Wm. McLane. 

Franklin Lodge No, 9 was organized at Morrison's Bluff 
February 27, 1844. The Grand Lodge of Arkansas api)ointed T. 
C. Boyer, S. G. Adams, and Samuel Adams as representatives of 
the Grand Lodge to establish the new lodge and install its officers. 



98 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The Charter Members were, Jno. M. Strong, Lorenzo N. 
Chirk, C. Q. Reynokls, Anthony Lewis, Daniel Henry, A. W. 
Peacock, Isemir Bean, John Sewell, Wm. Hill, F. M. Paine and 
P.. F. Hershey. 

The first officers were Jno. M. Strong, W. M.; John Sewell, 
S. W.; A. W. Peacock, J. ^Y.; Lorenzo N. Clarke, Sec; Anthony 
Lewis, S. D.; Isemir Bean, J. D.; \Ym. Hill, Tyler. 

John M Strong, the first ^Yorshipful Master presided over 
the lodge his last time on October 21, 1848, for resolutions on his 
death state thai on December 2, 1848 he breathed his last and the 
resolutions further eulogize him as a dignified and intelligent 
presiding officer, "one of the main pillars and brightest jewels 
of the order", and requLVst that a copy of the resolutions be sent 
the Clarksville Standard and other papers of Arkansas and New 
York, for publication. 

At a regular meeting of this lodge held at Morrison's Bluff, 
on November 4, 1848, Augustus M. ^Yard offered a resolution 
proposing to move the domicile of Franklin Lodge No. 9 to 
Clarksville, j)ermission having been previously granted by the 
Grand Lodge. According the upper story of the Hershey build- 
ing situated on the south side of Main street was rented for the 
sum of forty dollars per annum and the furnishings and jewels 
of the lodge were moved to this new home. This Hershey build- 
ing was located on the lot three doors east of the First National 
Bank. 

44ie Hershey residence, a house with a long front facing 
Main street also, stood on the lots east extending to the alley 
beyond the Herald-Democrat office. Mr. Hershey, sometime in 
the fifties, built a three story brick on the corner of Main and 
Cravens, where the Langford store now stands. This building 
was destroyed by fire in 1901, 

In the records of the lodge appear two interesting installa- 
tions. 44ie fii-st took i)lace before the removal from Morrison 
Bluff. 44ie members assembled in the lodge room at the ap- 
pointed hour and marched abreast to the public stand where the 
AYorshipful Master delivered an able address. Dinner was 
served having been prepared by "Bro. Duff and Lady". 

The second installation took place at Clarksville on June 24, 
1850. 44ie nuMnbers formed in line at the lodge room and 
marched to music furnished by H. L. \Yilson and Geo. Basham 



ORGAXIZATIOXS 99 

across the squaro lo the little Methodist CJiureh on the south side 
where a crowd awaitetl to witness tlu> installation ceremonies, 
Pra\'er was olfered hy Rev. H. A. Sui^ii;. The incoming officers 
wore presented hy A. L. Hershey and H. F. Hershey as they were 
formally installed. John Pitman delivered the address of the 
occasion. The officers were — xVuguslus Ivl. Ward, W. M.; M. S. 
Hughes, S. W.; F. M. Paine, J. W.; J. F. Hill, Treas.; J. A. Walton, 
Sec; C. W. Bruton, S. D.; G. S. C. Scott, J. D.; Andrew Houston, 
Tyler; H. L. \\'hite and Rohl. Houston, Stewards. 

The dinner for this occasion was furnislied hy B. F. Hershey 
and wife and was served for "one dollar per plate." Represen- 
tatives from other lodges over the state had heen invited to wit- 
ness this installation, and the following gentlemen from 
Dover and Dardanelle honored the occasion with their pres- 
ence: A. W. Peacock, W. D. Sadler, H. A. Sugg, W. F. 
Cravens, L. C. Howell, Alec Loop, John Logan, J. R. H. Scott, 

Walter Scott, Jesse Hayd.n, Thos. Russell, Sherman and 

Tolhert. (Capt. L. C. Howell mentioned above as a visitor 

was from Pope County and was an uncle of the L. C. Howell of 
Johnson county) 

Many acts of charity are accredited to this lodge in its early 
history and many relatives of deceased members obtained ma- 
terial aid from these splendid gentleman who composed a large 
per cent of the l)etter ciiizcnship of that time. 

The names of many more citizens were added to the roll dur- 
ing the period (jf the 50's — Some of these names are still familiar 
because their children or their children's children still reside here. 
Others equally as loved in those days, have passed to their reward, 
and even the sound of their names is unfamiliar, still their 
memory is cherished because of the life they lived a century 
ago. Among the number may be mentioned, John Titworth, 
C. W. Burton, B. H. Xesbit, Thcophilus F. Garrett, D. D. Rosa, 
M. Carpenter, B. F. Peeler. Daniel Henry, L. F. Duff, Robert A. 
Latimer, John M. Steel, J. M. Rogers, W. L. Guthrie, S. W. 
Cravens, W. H. Adams, G. S. C. Scott, J. F. Hill, M. F. Hughes, 
J. J. Dorsey, G. W. Parker, John ^^'ard, Jacob Rogers, Andrew 
Houston, Wm. L. Cravens, J. B. Williams, A. Gilbert, T. C. 
Swigart, Redmond Rogers, L. G. Walton, L. Ewdng, E. Bettice, 

J. H. Patterson, Lunas Armstrong, Watt Maffitt, Thornburg, 

L. C. Adams.. Samuel Cravens, D. A. Jamison, B. Ewing, ■ 



100 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Hanky, Edward Robinson, J. G. Walton, Philip May and \\m. 
Cnnninghani. 

A chapter of Royal Arch Masons was institntcd at Clarksville 
some lime during the '70's which has steadily grown nntil it now 
has a membership of more than a hundred. 

A noteworthy fact in connection with the history of this 
Royal Arch Chapter is tliat the late D. N. Clark was its Secretary 
for more than forty years. The Chapter meets once each month 
and during all these years the record of the minutes of every 
meeting appears in Mr. Clark's handwriting. Perhaps another 
like record could not be found in the state. 

Within the last two years a Knights Templar Commandery 
lias been instituted at Clarksville with a fairly good membership. 
In addition to the above Masonic bodies at Clarksville there are 
now located lodges at Lamar, Coal Hill, Knoxville, Spring Hill, 
Ozone, Ft. Douglas, Mt. Levi, Ludwig and Harmony. 

OTHER LODGES 

Tliere arc other lodges, more or less of a monitary con- 
sideration. Such as the Fraternal Aid Union, the Maccabees, the 
Woodmen of the World. Also farmers organizations and fruit 
growers associations, et cetera. The two great i)olitical bodies 
the Democrats and Republicans, sometimes initiate auxilaries 
which live for a time, serve their purpose and pass out. Com- 
mercial organizations come and go. The Klu Klux Klan is 
known to exist, but as to its extent, it is as mysterious as their 
a{)perism — The Invisible Empire. 

ORDER OF THE EASTERX STAR 

Organized in Clarksville, Arkansas December 21, 1891. 

The officers were: Mrs. Emma Davis, Worthy Matron; Mrs. 
Fanny Ward, Associate Matron; D. N. Clark, Worthy Patron. 

Charter Members were: Sisters Rebecca Harris, Mollie Wolf, 
Fanny Ward, M. E. Molloy, Martha Ward, Mattie Adkins and 
.T. T. Howell. Also Rros. D. N. Clark, C. C. May, J. M. Wolf, 
William Adkins, W. A. May and J. T. Howell. 

ROBIORT XELSOX CHAPTER D. A. 11. 

Organized at Lamar, Arkansas January 15, 1915 by Mrs. W. 
A. Cazort, Organizing Regent. 

The following members have been enrolled in this, the four- 
leenih chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution: Mrs. 
Lillian Lee Cazort, Chapter Regent; Mrs. Ethel Pearson Fiser, 



ORGANIZATIONS 101 

Vice Regent; Miss Florence Cazoii Secretary; Mrs. Relle Garner 
Cazort, Treasurer; Mrs. Ruth Garner Huddleston, Registrar; 
Mrs. Harriette Garner Lay, Historian; Mrs. Minnie Oliver Ruther- 
ford, Press Correspondent; Miss Valerie Cazort, Miss Selma 
Shelton Corley, Mrs. Maude Lee Ferguson, Mrs. Lulu Lay Garner. 
Miss Ruth H. Hamilton, Mrs. Leona Oliver Maxwell, Mrs. Blanche 
Lee Moreland, Miss Jessie Garner Pearson, Mrs. Henrietta Cazort 
Pitchford, Miss Bird Corsen Dunlap, Mrs. Stella Pearson Brad- 
ford, Miss Eloise Garner Rollow, Mrs. Jean Rollow Nicholson, 
Mrs. Irene Garner Riddle. 

FELIX I. BATSOX CHAPTER U. D. C. 

The United Daughters of the Confederacy of Clarksville, 
Arkansas, known as Chapter 221, was organized on April 20, 1898. 
A nuniher of the daughters of confederate soldiers met in the 
afternoon of that spring day at the home of Mrs. Jorden E. 
Cravens on the corner of Sevier street and Central avenue, and 
banded themselves together as the charter members of this organ- 
ization that has done much to make pleasant the last days of 
many confi'derate soldiers. The names of those women were: 
Mesdames J. P. Mitchell, John C. Hill, J. E. Cravens, John W. 
Howell, J. N. Brown, B. P. McKennon, A. S. McKennon, E. T. 
McConnell, Misses Ada May, and Jessie Cravens (Mrs. J. Smith 
Ownby) . 

This Chapter was given its name complimentary to the father 
of Mrs. J. E. Cravens, Judge Felix I. Batson, who was the repres- 
entative from this district in the Congress of the Confederacv. 

One year after this day the membership had growai but little, 
only five names having been added to the original ten, but in the 
fourth year, the maximum nimiber of sixty two was enrolled. 

Many of those daughters have passed away but granddaughters 
have taken their places and now after a quarter of a century has 
passed th:' number is but slightly less for names of fifty-five 
women still give impetus to the organization. 

During the twcnt3'-two years of the life of this chapter only 
three women have served as president — Mrs. J. E. Cravens, Mrs. 
W. S. Jett and Mrs. J. S. Kolb, the latter having been elected three 
years ago. 

Much state work is done by these women in accord with the 
stipulate program arranged each year for the Arkansas Chapters. 



102 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

WOMEN'S ORGAXIZATIOXS 

The orcianizatioiis of the women, however, are more of a 
philanthropie nature and some of them of lonif standing with 
estabhshed records of accomplishments. 

W. C. T. U. — Woman Christian Temperance Union of 
Clarksville was organized at the M. E. Cliurch in tlie evening of 
April 21, 1885. Miss J. C. DeNelling representing the State or- 
ganization was present. 

The officers elected were, to-wit: Mrs. J. H. Rhodes, Presi- 
dent; Mrs. B. D. Pennington, Vice-President; Mrs. J. P. Mitchell, 
Vice-President; Mrs. S. E. Rogers, Vice-President; Mrs. A. P. 
May, Recording Secretary; Mrs. A. E. McConnell, Corresponding 
Secretary; Mrs. A. N. Brown, Treasurer; Mesdamcs J. \V. Coff- 
man, Mattie Hunt, and Maggie McKennon, committee on pro- 
grams. Twenty names were enrolled, with two gentlemtn as 
honorary members. Mrs. Sam Laser and Mrs. M. A. Moore 
were devoted and faithful workers of recent years. 

Cemetery Association — The primal move to better conditions 
at the Clarksville Cemetery west of the town, was made by the 
Board of Trustees of the M. E. Church on April 13, 1892. J. E. 
Cravens was the chairman and N. S. Connelly the Secretar3\ 
Other members were A. S. McKennon, J. C. Hill, W. T. Hunt, J. W. 
Coffman and M. D. L. Clark. Other gentlemen present were 
Dr. James and L. C. May. This (uganization laid off lob: to sell 
and appropriated a potters field and otherwise imi)rovcd con- 
ditions. 

Three years later, on November 1, 1895, some women took 
(>ver the active negotiation of the organization. This they 
called the Cemetery Association. They elected the following 
officers: Mrs. C. B. Rhodes, President; Mrs. Lula C. Pennington. 
Secretary; Mrs. J. T. HaHey, Treasurer. An executive committee 
consisted of Mcsdames C. E. Stokes, B. D. Pennington and W. A. 
May. The name Oakland Cemetery was chosen by this Associa- 
tion, and on the arch over the gate (now the north gate) as is 
customary, the name was written. The present officers are to- 
wit: Mrs. A. B. Johnson, President; Mrs. Joe Evans, Vice Presi 
dent; Mrs. W. J. Basham, Secretary, and Mrs. Fred White, Treas- 
urer. Executive Committee, Mesdames Mattie Logan, John 
Haigwood,and Finas Blackburn. This organization i)urchased a 
lot and built a house for a sexton, who looks after the cemetery. 
Some names of persons who were faithful members for long: 



ORGANIZATIONS 103 

years — Mrs. \V. J. Hasliam. who lias Jkhii llio Secretary for 
eighteen years, Mrs. H. D. Peiiiiiiiifton, Miss Lizzie Peniiin£«ton, 
Mrs. J. P. Molloy, Mrs. A. B. Johnson, Mrs. Lula C. Pennini^ton, 
Mrs. Q. B. Poynor, Mrs. Fred White and Mr.s Mattie Loi,mn. 
This ori^anization has always been self-siistainini*. While the 
Board of Trustees of the church claim no active i)art in the af- 
fairs of the Association, the chairman of that body must sign 
each certificate or deed for the sale of lots. The property was 
deeded by Jacob Dorcey to the Methodist ('Juu-ch of ClarksvilU . 

Fortnightly Book Club — This woman's clul) featuring the 
study of history and literature was organized in 1904. Mrs. 
Jorden E. Cravens initiated the idea, and was the first president. 
Twenty women were carefully chosen and invited to join. Mrs. 
C. L. Pyle was one of the charter members and for a long time 
the president. This club is a member of the Arkansas Feder- 
ation of Woman's Clubs. 

Apollo Music Club — The Apollo Music Club was organized in 
1906. The first i)resident was Mrs. Samuel Laser and the first 
Secretary was Mrs. G. O. Patterson. This club joined the 
National Federation of Music Clubs in 1908, the Arkansas Feder- 
ation of Woman's Clubs in 1910, and the Arkansas Musical 
Federation in 191(). This club paid half tuition and Prof. J. W. 
Brown, Dean of Music at Arkansas Cumberland College the other 
half, for a music pupil two years at that college. 

Clarksville Civic Club — The C. C. C. was organized, with 
thirteen members February 13, 1913. The following officers were 
elected: Mrs. A. M. McKennon, President; Mrs. T. E. May, Vice 
President; Miss Maude McConnell (Mrs. Francis Poynor), Re- 
cording Secretary; Mrs. Cooper Langford, Corresponding Secre- 
tary. Other members Avere — Mesdames G. O. Patterson, Sam 
Laser, W. S. Jett, Ernest Fontaine, J. E. Nichols, Fremont Stokes, 
R. D. Dunlap, T. B. May and J. T. Farmer. 

This club has been a most active one. The passenger station 
on West Main street was erected following efforts of this organ- 
ization. The city mail delivery was also a result of the efforts 
of these women. They called a mass meeting and raised suffi- 
cient money to purchase Glen Island Park, in Spadra Creek. 
They conducted i)icnics and Industrial Exhibits. They pur- 
chased the steel bridge that crosses the west prong of the creek, 
to the park. Mrs. A. M. McKennon. has been the president 



104 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

eight years of the nine of organization. 

School Improvement Association — Back in the first decade 
of this century or perhaps before, Mesdames Sam Laser and Flora 
McKennon were two constant and faithful members in an asso- 
ciation for the betterment of the public school, Mrs. Laser was 
the president. In 1912 a reorganization took place and seventy- 
five members were enrolled. Miss Elizabeth Pennington was 
elected president for one year. Then Mrs. Cooper Langford 
served for five years. At this time Mrs. Clark Thompson is the 
presiding officer. 

The school funds were depleted in 1921 and these women are 
cmploj'ing and i)aying the eleven literary teachers of the school, 
by public subscription for the nine months term. 

Mrs. C, L. Flake was for seven years the Recording Secretary. 

Mrs. A. F. Ward, has been a faithful member since the 
reorganization. 

The Red Cross — was thoroughly organized all over the 
county during the period of the World War. Since peace it is 
manipulated on a smaller scale. Mrs. A. M. McKennon is chair- 
man and Mrs. H. W. Collier is secretary. Mrs. Sam Laser was 
an ardent worker for the cause of suffrage for long years, and 
was the president of that league. At this time she is associated 
with many other women in the more recent League of Women 
Voters. 

There are other organizations of more recent date, of which 
records will not be given here. The College Improvement Asso- 
ciation of which Mrs. R. S. Davis is the president, the Y. W. C. A. 
as is also tlie Y. M. C. A„ are sponsored by the College of the 
Ozarks. 

The Woman's Club of Ludwig is of several years standing. 
Mrs. Wm. Engelhard and Mrs. Ezra Adkins were two active 
members. The School Improvement Association of that neigh- 
borhood is doing good work. Woodland and Lone Pine have 
most active organizations. The Coal Hill and Lamar Improvement 
Associations have been a great benefit to the school work. 

PERSOXAL 

Mrs. Sallie Robinson Reed, a daughter of Littleberry Robin- 
son and the mother of Congressman C. C. Reed, was the author 
of many poems and of that volume much cherished by the 
South — Immortclls. 



ORGANIZATIONS 10r> 

Mrs. Bottie Houston Liltlepai^o of Washiiiiflon ('ily, was Ine 
daughter of Col. J. S. Houston. She has written many lyrics and 
poems. 

Miss Ada Hile, the editor of the Saturday City Item of Ft. 
Smith, was the daui*hter of R. C. Hite, the founder of the Clarks- 
ville Herald. Miss Annie Hite, another daui^hter, has written 
many verses of rhyme. 

Mrs. R. D. Dunlap, Sr., and Mrs. Emma Harlan write clever 
verses. 

Mrs. Ori (J. H.) Jamison, was president of the Ft. Smith 
district of the Methodist Home Mission Society for twelve years. 

Miss Newell Foster (Mrs. J. W. Sallis) was for several years 
Secretary of the State Teachers' Association. 

Mrs. Lera Anderson served two terms as vice president of 
the Music Cluhs of Arkansas. 

Miss Virgic Poynor has for many years held office in the 
State Music Teachers Association. 

Mrs. Cooper Langford was four terms state treasurer of the 
Arkansas Federation of Woman's Cluhs. She was twice presi- 
dent of the Ft. Smith District of Woman's Clubs. She is also a 
member of tne Authors and Composers Society of Arkansas. 

Dr. Annie Hays is a practicting physician in Johnson county. 

Mrs. Isobel Klein practiced the profession of law in the 
Johnson county courts in 1917-18. 

Mrs. Anna Hoyer and Miss Hanna Werner were Red Cross 
Nurses in the World War. 

Dr. Mary Oberste is a Chiropractor following her profession 
in Clarksville. 

Mrs. Samuel Laser and Miss Bird Dunlap were elected 
members of the Johnson County Democratic Central Committee 
in 1920. 

Mrs. Brown Moore formerly Inez Wilson of Johnson county, 
but now of Stillwater, Oklahoma, is a member of the Democratic 
Central Committee of Oklahoma. She is also Chairman of the 
Deiiiocratic Central Committee of Payne County, Oklahoma. 

Miss Bird Dunlap, has for four years been the Johnson 
County Home Demonstration Agent and is now a candidate for 
the Democratic nomination for County Clerk. 

Many members of the Girls' Clubs, under the supervision of 
the County Home Demonstration Department, have made ex- 



106 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

cellent records. Those given here were for 1921: 

Viola Stegall won a canning contest inchiding all the 
Southern States. This was conducted in four sections covering 
the United States, by the Hazel Atlas Glass Co. of Wheeling \Yest 
Virginia. 

In a sewing contest Alma Kraus won a first State Prize and 
Margaret Jones and Robbie Blackburn, each hold second State 
Prizes. 

A Judging Team, consisting of Berneice McBce, Orilla 
Ogilvie and Viola Stegall won honors in County contests. 

Viola Stegall has for two years held the district Scholarship 
in The College of the Ozarks, for the best all-round club record. 

Helen Partain has a scholarship in the Russellville Agricul- 
tural School for the District Gardening record. 

HISTORY OF THE PRESS IN JOHNSON COUNTY 

Tlie records of early newspapers in Johnson County are not 
({uite clear. 

That there was a printing press within the county as early 
as 1840 is signified by the appearance of the funeral notice re- 
produced on the opposite page. C. C. Colburn, late of Ozark, 
said that his father, F. N. Colburn and his uncle, S. G. Colburn, 
were partners in a newspaper published in Clarksville in the '40's, 
called "The Clarksville Sun." This was probably in 1844. When 
one elderly gentleman was asked if this paper were a weekly, he 
answered, with a smile, "Yes, qmie weakly.^' 

From the old Masonic Lodge Book at Morrison's Bluff it is 
learned that a Committee on Resolutions concerning the death of 
a member in 1848 requested that a copy of the sanie be sent to 
the "Clarksville Standard." 

The obituary of Col. William Gray who died in 1850 was pub- 
lished in the Clarksville Union. 

4'hus it seems that there were at least three newspapers in 
Clarksville while it was yet in embryo. The project seemed to 
have been abandoned for a period however, sinco the next 
v.eekly we learn of was issued in 18(56 from the press of James 
Fitch who was a Federal Register of votes. He called his paper 
"The Clarksville Forum." Now the soldier boys who had re- 
cently come home from the war, took issue with tlie attitude of 
his paper and their only recourse to their pent-up plaints was to 



THE PRESS 107 

publish a nc\vs])a|)iM- lluMiist'lves. As early as 18()7 a company 
had been fornu'd. a press |)urchast'd and an office fitted up. Their 
weekly they called •'The ('.larksville Democrat". Major Harold 
Bourland was Edilor-in-Chief while J. S. (iray was Assislanl 
Editor and Publisher. The life of both these |)apers was of short 
duration, perhaps two years or less. 

In the sprini>" of 1872 E. T. McConnell fitted up a i)rinting 
office and began, with Edward Jamison as the Editor, the pub- 
lication of "The Clarksville Enterprise." The editions cover- 
ing 1873-4 Mr. McConnell has kept and they are vastly interesting 
now. The Enferjjrise was discontinued in 1875. After the 
suspension of this paper, Edward and Latta Jamison followed 
almost witliout intermission with the issuing of "The Vanguard." 

The machinery from the office of the Vanguard was later 
moved to Conway, and there was jjublished for the first time 
the "Arkansas Traveler". Edward Jamison soon died and then 

Opie Reed and Werner purchased the outfit and after 

moving to Little Rock continued the former publication. Mr. 
Reed later took up his residence in Chicago, and with Iiim went 
Ihc^ nam2 of his pape:% if nothing more, for long years after, he 
was still the editor of the "Arkansas Traveler". 

Then came I he day in the first week of March, 187(5 when 
the Clarksville H.rald was established. The editor was a well 
informed gentleman from Memjihis, Tenn., whose name was R. 
C. Hite. Since Ihat first issue the title of one of Clarksville's 
newspapers has always been Herald. A prefix or an affix has 
sometimes accc)mj)anied the word, but the original name has al- 
ways been present. As early as 1883, Mr. Hite's i)ai)er was 
chang' d to the "Laliorer's Herald," but it was only a short time 
until the old lille "Clarksville Herald" was again restored. 

Sometime in the early eighties O. C. Ludwig moved a press 
from Sprinidale. Arkansas to Clarksville and began to spread the 
news with "The Arkansan." In 1884 E. T. McConnell and F. L. 
Pennington pui'chased a new outfit and issued the "Clarksville 
Register." This majhincry was moved sometime later to Paris, 
Arkansas. 

"The Western Journal" was started by J. W. Adams in 
188(). This was published daily for a short time. 

J. R. Tolbert purchased the "Arkansan" from O. C. Ludwig 
and changed the name to "Brothers of Freedom." 



108 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

In '86 or '87, E. T. McConnell, R. C. Hitc and Jas. S. Gray 
formed a company and consolidated the "Clarksville Herald" 
and the "Western Journal" and called the paper the "Herald- 
Journal." This company purchased the equipment of the 
' Dardanelle Immii>rant" and brought it to Clarksville. They sold 
stock and almost every business man in Clarksville held shares. 
After a time O. C. Ludwi<> purchased controlliui* interest, and con- 
sequently he became the chief editor — and a good one. After a few 
years, some time in the last decade of the past century A. M. 
Ward and Ed. Harley became the owners of this paper which 
had continued under their management for several years when 
Mr. Harley died and then exclusive management passed into the 
hands of Mr. Ward. The "Herald-Journal" had undergone an- 
other christening and was now called the "Johnson County 
Herald." 

In 1914 Mr. Ward was appointed Receiver of the U. S. Land 
Office at Little Rock by Pres. Wilson and moved to that city. 

A son of Mr. Ward, William T. Ward, then became the edit- 
or. Rut a year later he fell a victim to pneumonia and died. 

Prof. J. W. Sallis then purchased the plant from Mr. Ward 
and became the editor and publisher of the paper. 

In June, 1909 Fred Yore, a gentleman with much news- 
paper experience, came to Clarksville and installed a new paper 
which he called the "Clarksville Democrat." After two years 
H. B. Holbrook from Springfield, Mo. became the owner of this 
publication. A fire on the night of Feb. 5, 1912 destroyed both 
the plants of the Democrat and the Herald, they being in the same 
block, east of the McConnell corner. Neither paper missed an 
issue. The Democrat was printed in Russellville and the Herald 
in Little Rock until other machinery and equipment could be 
installed. In October 1914 Mr. Holbrook sold to G. L. Wright, 
of Minneapolis, Kansas, and in January 1915, I'odd Ellis of Rus- 
sellville moved to Clarksville and became associated with Mr. 
Wright in the publication of the "Democrat." 

On August 1, 1918 Prof. Sallis sold the "Johnson County 
Heicild" to Messrs. Wright and Ellis who consolidated the iwc, 
papers and continued the publication under the name "Herald- 
Dcmocral" until March 1, 1920, when J. W. Sallis, C. M. Thread- 
gill and J. W. Sallis Jr. purchased the plant and continued the 
publication of the |)aper under the firm name of Sallis, Thread- 



THE PRESS 109 

i^ili and Sallis, publishers. The "Herahl-Denioerat" is a I i)reseiil 
the only paper piihlislud in Clarksville. l^roi'. Sallis is Editor 
and Business Manai>;er, C. M. Threadi*ill, Eorcman of the Me- 
ehanical Department. They toijether with John \V. Sallis, .Jr., 
Miss Lucy Sharyer, machine operator, and J. R. Ransom, com- 
pose the efficient plant force of the "Herald-Democrat." 

In 1887 Robert Moffit and Samuel Mays established a press 
at Lamar and subser{uently introduced into that city the first 
newspaper. They entitled it "The Lamar News." 

Lack of information necessarily limits the facts concernini* 
the names of owners and the dates of the establishment of pub- 
lications known to have been issued in Lamar, but names of some 
of these papers were, "Farmer's Sentinal," "Baptist Banner," and 
the "Lamar Leader". G. E. Bennett was for several years the 
Editor and Publisher of the last mentioned. 

Knoxville for a year, was the liome of the "Knoxville Demo- 
crat". 

COAL HILL NEWSPAPERS 

The following article, relative to the storj^ of the Coal Hill 
press was contributed by Steve H. Logan, who, in the past was 
at various times connected with the newspaper business in that 
town: 

The first paper to be published at Coal Hill was a five 
column folio called llie "Arkansas Valley" which made its first 
appearance on Xov. 3, 1885. Robert Stonecipher was Editor and 
Publisher. He had moved the printing press from Van Buren 
where he had previously published the "Van Buren Daily Optic." 
It v/as a small outfit consisting of a five-column army press and 
a few fonts of type. 

About the first of March this paper was sold to an English- 
man named .lames Cox who had just arrived in this country from 
London, England. Mr. Cox was an exce})tionally fine writer and 
had been a reporter on one of the London dailies for several years. 
But he knew nothing of the mechanical part of a i)rinting office so 
this work was done entirely b}' Steve H. Logan. He only publish- 
ed the "Arkansas \'alley" about three months, going from Coal 
Hill to St. Louis where he died a few years later worth a million 
dollars. The outfit left by Cox was purchased by Srygiey Bros, 
who in 1886 rented it to a man named Stone from Clarksville 



110 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

and Sam Crawford from the Indian Territory who pubhshed 
"The Coal Hill Lancet" for a few months. 

In November 1888 the "Coal Hill Monitor" was launched by 
M, H. Burnham who with a Washington hand-press and some old 
type published the paper for about six months with the assist- 
ance of Nobe Connelly and Robt. Foster. Mr. Burnham was 
succeeded as Editor and Publisher by Ben Grigsby who issued a 
splendid weekly. In the spring of 1890 the paper fell into trie 
hands of Messrs. Taylor, Austin and John R. Hill. Neither of 
them knowing the newspaper business they employed "Buck" 
Blythe of Clarksville to do the work. Mr. Blythe at that time 
Avas i)ublishing the "Phonograph" at Clarksville which he sus- 
pended and clianged the name of the Coal Hill paper to the "Coal 
Hill Phonograph." After a few months the pajicr v.as sold to J. 
R. Tolbert and S. S. Wellborn of Clarksville. Mr. Tolbert had 
been Editor of the "Arkansas Economist" published at Clarks- 
ville. The name of this paper was now changed to the "Coal 
Hill Banner." 

On May 1(5, 1891 "The Arkansas Spy" appeared with Steve H. 
Logan as |)ublisher and Jack Buster as Editor. The "Spy" sus- 
pended in July 1892. 

Sometime in the fall of 1893 "The Coal Hill hujuirer" appear- 
ed with Percy McGraw of Altus as Editor and Publisher luil the 
life of this publication was of short duration. 

In F'ebruary 1890 the "Democrat" made its appearance with 
Fred Jacques and Steve Logan as Publishers. "The Democrat" 
had the best equipment of any newspaper up to that time that had 
been brought into the county, having been the one used by Jacques 
in publishing the "Democrat" at Ft. Smitii. This press was later 
moved to Mena, Arkansas. Fred Jac((ues was a French-Canad- 
ian from New Watford, Canada. He had j)ublished the "Daily 
Democrat" at Grand Island, Nebraska and the "Ft. Smith Daily 
Democrat." He was one of the best all-round newspaper men in 
the country. 

In Septcm'uer 1896 S. W. McClure moved his paper from 
Charleston, Arkansas to Coal Hill and began the publication of 
"The Coal Hill Times." This paper suspended soon afterward. 

In July 1897 W. C. Boyd moved the "Rustler" from Ozark to 
Coal Hill where he published it for a short time. 



INDUSTRIES 111 

In l(Si)(S the '"Coal Hill Record" was |)ul)lished by Ren (irii>sby 
for a few months. 

"The Phoenix" was pnhlished by Steve Loi*an from Jannary 
1901 to March 1902. 

All the above mentioned newspapers were Democratic with 
the exception of the "Rustler" which was Populist. 

INDUSTRIES 

COTTOX 

Primarily cotton was the only industry of the county that 
brought enough money to finance the necessities of the i)eople 
and today it still remains the principal asset. There is always a 
sale for this crop. Only once since the period of the Civil War 
have the markets refused cotton. This was during the fall and 
winter of 1914 and 1915 following the beginning of the World 
War in Europe. At which time the "Buy a bale" movement was 
inaugurated throughout the United States, and thereby, most of 
the people who depended entirely on this crop for their supplies 
for the coming year were kept from want. Johnson County, 
however, would not have suffered much had the crop failed to sell 
at all, since she has other flourishing industries, such as the coal 
mines, ])each crops, etc. 

The principal crop of this staple is produced in the river 
bottoms. The creek lowlands are close seconds, however, and 
since the modern fertilizers are so extensively used, the uplands 
are almost equal to either of the former, thus giving to the upland 
farmer a diversified selection for a planting, since so many crops 
not adapted to the low lands will grow to perfection on th? red 
clay hills through the middle section of the county. 

The black wax soil of the river bottom lands holds the 
moisture and it is possible to grow an excellent crop of cotton 
there even in a dry season. Still, cotton can always be depended 
upon, despite weather conditions. It fluctuates with the weather 
but is never an entire failure. There is approximately 12.000 
bales raised each year in the county, averaging an aggregate of 
three cpiarters of a million dollars per season. 

COAL 

The Coal industry has grown in the last twenty years to be 
one of the leading factors in this county. Not only does it 
represent hundreds of thousands of dollars during a year but it 



112 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

makes a surplus of niouey in Ihc county all during the year. The 
mines usually begin for the season early in July and run almost 
continuously until the latter part of January, with a payroll of 
approximately $100,000 per month. During the period of the 
World War they operated continuously. 

There is more than a half million dollars brought into the 
county each year from this source and more than that during the 
war period of 1917. 

During the year 1917 an average pay is estimated to liave 
been '$150,000.00 per month, and an average number of tons 
mined per month during this year was 26,781. 

The Spadra anthracite field is the principal industrial center 
of the county, which is at this time represented by twenty or 
more mines. Some of them are among the best equipped 
in the southwest. Especially is the Fernwood Mining Comj^any 
at Jamestown, near Clarksville, up to date in equipment and op- 
eration. They have their own electric plant, which operates the 
mines and furnishes lights for the camp houses. They also 
maintain a modern water filtering plant which insures pure 
drinking water for the little village of employees near the breaker. 

Along the vein nearer the surface, which lies north of the 
main field, in the Shady Grove neighborhood, are at this time 
some half dozen "Strip Pits'", which are proving quite satisfactory 
and profitable, following a period of experiment. By "strip pit" 
it is meant that the soil overlying th? vein of coal is stripped 
away by the use of steam shovels. 

Johnson county is represented by several tipples in the 
bituminous field which is shared by Franklin county. 

In the anthracite region a few names must stand out as 
])ioneer ijrosjjectors throughout the years. The first of which 
must be the Stiew?ll jjrothers and Kemps. The next period be- 
ginning with the present century, John W. Powers, J. W. Coff- 
man, R. D. Dunlap, Cooper H. Langford, Fremont Stokes, W. F, 
Collier, M. M. McWilliams, S. Laser, Thomas and Nat Clark, 
C. L. Pyle, James K. Gearhart and others. And after a few years 
more, other names became frequently comiected with tlie coal 
mining business — J. E. Nichols, J. B. King, M. L. Mardis c't Sons, 
M. A. Lucas, Earl Johnson, Lee King, D. W. Dunlap, A. F. Ward, 
R. D. Dunlaj), Jr., Dowdy Brothers, Kinney Brothers, J. V. Her- 
ring, Louis Werner, W. R. Eustice, Walker Laster and others. 



INDUSTRIES 113 

In the soft coal field, the name of Stiewell attain lieads the list, 
with Rafter, Hill, Mitchell, Douiflas, l^Mininivton and Lastcr. 
There have been many others associated with the indiistiy 
in this section hut other information has not been leathered at 
this time. 

PEACHES 

The peach crop of the county has grown to be a i)rofitable 
factor, claiming third place in the industrial life of the county. 
The crop, however is not a dependabk' one, since there is seldom 
two successive favorable years. Nevertheless, the revenue from 
a successful season is sufficient to supplement the non-productive 
years. 

The county has claimed but few "Big Orchards". A. F. 
Ward was connected for a time with outside cai)ital in i)each 
growing on a large scale. J. A. Best jjossesses another of the. 
extensive orchards, known as the "Best Farm". G. D. Crawford, 
who operates a small canning factory in connection with liis 
peach crop, has perhaps the largest individual orchard in the 
vicinity of Clarksville. Cazort Brothers of Lamar has at this 
time the largest orchard in the county. 

Almost every farmer has devoted some part of his farm to 
the culture of Elberta peaches. The income from this source 
will, in productive seasons, reach an aggregate amount of half a 
million dollars. 

SAW MILLS 

The saw mills in the lumber regions liave for almost all the 
j-ears of civilization, had a place of essential prominence in the 
county. Dotted, as it were, here and there over the country, they 
turn out many thousands of feet of this common i)roduct of 
lumber each year and still the growth of timber in the virgin state 
is apparently little more than scratched. The forests of the great 
short leafed pine are still i)lentiful, also the prevalent oaks. The 
pines give us the best building lumber; the oaks for furniture, 
liardwood floors, wagon timber and barrel staves, while the gum, 
log is ripped into strips and fashioned into baskets. 

LUMBER 

The county has, as does every locality, a few lumber com- 
panies, The Ladd Si Strong Lumber Company is an extensive 
affair located at Clarksville. They maintain a planing mill in 



114 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

connection with the yard proper and in the mountains, at Silex, 
they have their own timber and saw mills. 

The Arkansas-Indiana Lumber Co., of which G. L. Cummins 
is manager, is an industry of considerable magnitude, with a 
planing mill in connection with their extensive yards. Until a 
few months ago they operated a Basket Factory also. Other 
lumber yards are owned by Hugo Oberstc, Hartman; Gus Hill, 
Coal Hill; and J. W. Harris, Lone Pine. 

OTHER INDUSTRIES 

Basket I^'aclory — The Basket Factory of Clarksville is the 
largest in the northern part of Arkansas and one of the largest in 
the state. This industry is now owned and operated by a com- 
])any composed of A. F. Ward, Jr., Harry Mowery and Jim James. 
If is called "The Clarksville Basket Manufacturing Company". 

An idea of the amount of business done by this company 
may be gathered from the fact that they shipped during the first 
ten days of the year, 1921, nine car loads of bushel baskets. 

Clarksville Cigar Factory — This industry has been a fixture 
since 1913 when Charles L. Wetsol conceived the idea and began 
the work. Die following year he sold to Hoyt Brothers, who 
have since that time operated the place quite successfully. Their 
brands are "Hoyt's Special", Hoyt's Genuine", "Verdict", "Lord 
James" and "Common Sense." 

Clarksville Bottling Works — This beverage mixing and 
bottling plant was first introduced at Clarksville by Cooper Lang- 
ford, who operated it only a few months, selling to Edgar 
Garrett, who built it up to one of the largest in this part of the 
state. Mr. Garrett operated the plant until 1920, when it was 
purchased by a company composed of F. G. Garrett, Todd Ellis 
and Elbert and Roy Garrett, who installed modern machinery, 
increasing the capacit}^ of the plant to 1001) cases per da\'. 

Grain Elevators — The Laser Grain Company, formerly mill- 
ing flour, meal and stock feed is at this time only ])roducing meal 
and chops. This company succeeded Chas. Allbritten, who suc- 
ceeded his father in the milling business. This industry was 
established by the Senior Mr. Allbritten in 1890. 

The Lamar Rock Quarry — The blue-gray granite quarry, 
Avhich was operated for thirty-five years by Wm. Birse, is today 
the i)roperty of G. T. Cazort, who has abandoned the original 



INDUSTRIES 115 

slope for dii>«>iiio ami imnu'diately beside (he old opening lias 
scooped oiil another, whieh is now lurnisliini^ iiuicli crushed 
stone for the buildini* of hi<:(h\vays and as a base for concrete 
material. 

Another Quarry, ojjerated by the Y()unt> (Construction (com- 
pany a few miles from Lamar over near the river has the ])asl 
two years done a flourishing business by furnishing stone for the 
east and west highway in course of construction. 

Stave Mills — The stave mill owners have done a flourishing 
business in this county for a number of years. These transient 
little plants being moved from one neighborhood to another over 
the county distributes a continuous flow of cash money among the 
citizens, often-times in remote places. 

Tbe largest operating mill owner in the county is J. B. Hall. 
J. M. Bryant, who is a resident of Johnson county and is an ex- 
tensive stave mill owner, operates all his big plants, in Madison 
and Newton counties. Two or three small capacity affairs are all 
that he has in this county, though he has a saw mill near the 
head of Spadra Creek and i)urchasL's the entire output of two 
other saw mills. These staves are hauled to Clarksville and 
shipped to outside markets. 

OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMEXT 

Gas was found in paying quantities in Johnson County on 
Saturday, November 19, 1921, at a depth of 2300 feet. The drill 
hole is five miles northwest of Clarksville on a farm, known as 
the Picrson place. The flow measured approximately seven and 
a half million cubic feet. 

The Johnson County Oil and Gas Co., of which Dr. W. R. 
Hunt Sr., is the president, are the initial ])romoters. The In- 
diahoma Refining Company of Okmulgee, Oklahoma were the 
drillers and also have an interest in the well. 

The well was capped after a few days and will lie dormant 
until the company is ready to drill again, at which time this well 
will furnish fuel for further prospecting. Also later Clarksville 
and other points expect to have it piped for fuel. At a depth of 
1200 feet an oil sand was passed through in this well, and oil was 
bailed out. Other wells in the future are expected to determine 
the exact extent of both the gas and the oil. 



116 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

BANKING INSTITUTIONS 

The Bank of Clarksville was organized in 1889, with J. C. 
Hill pres.. Dr. A. M. McKcnnon vicc-pres., C. L. Pyle cashier. Since 
the organization the following have heen the presidents: J. C. 
Hill, M. A. Lucas, R. S. Davis, \v. F. Collier and T. E. May. 

The Johnson County Bank, of Clarksville, was organized in 
1901. The officers were, Dr. C. E. Rohinson jjres., W. J. Bashani 
vice-pres., A. N. Ragon cashier, D. W. Dunlap assistant cashier, 
and R. D. Dunlap, Sr., Sam Laser, Cooper Langford and J. H. 
Powers directors. In 1910 the capital stock of this bank was in- 
creased to .$100,000.01) and merged into the First National Bank, 
wdth a Federal depository for five counties. Pope, Yell, Logan, 
Franklin and Johnson. The officers were, A. N. Ragon pres., 
W. J. Basham vice-i)res., R. D. Dunlap, Jr., cashier. A. F. Ward, 
M. M. McWilliams, D. W. Dunlap, Sam Laser, Thomas, Nat and 
Garland Clark have all been active in this institution. 

The Farmers National Bank, of Clarksville, was organized 
Jan. 17, 1920, with R. A. Morgan pres., J. M. Taylor and F. Q. 
Poynor vice-i)residents, and W. E. King cashier. 

The Bank of Lamar was organized Mar. 30, 1993. Officers: 
\V. A. Cazort pres., G. D. Huddleston and J. A. Nation vice-presi- 
dents, and J. O. Ragon cashier. Sometime later P. F. Winning- 
ham became the president, W. H. Wilson and J. M. Metcalf vice- 
presidents, J. O. Ragon cashier. Others connected with this insti- 
tution have been J. S. Winningham, J. W. Hawkins, A. E. Caroth- 
ers and W. G. Weeks. 

The Blue Stone Bank of Lamar was organized Sept. 6, 1910, 
with G. T. Cazort pres., (i. T. Huddleston, J. R. Cazort, W. A. 
Cazort, J. H. Simpson, W. G. Weeks and J. I. McClerkin. 

The Bank of Spadra became an institution July 11, 1904, 
through the efforts of C. H. Langford who was the first president, 
with F. Q. Poynor as cashier. This bank was moved to Hartman 
in 1910 and the name changed to Bank of Hartman. Geo. Mc- 
Cann became the cashier. In DecendDer 1915 C. H. Langford and 
others sold controlling interest to W. F. and H. W. Collier. W^ F. 
Collier became the president, with F. Q. Poynor cashier. On Jan. 
14, 1920, this bank again changed hands, and A. B. Banks is the 
president and Roland W. Doty cashier. 

The Citizens Bank of Coal Hill was estabhshed Nov. 25, 1909, 
with A. D. Reynolds ])res., A. G. Hill cashier, G. D. Ferguson, 
C. C. Flake and W. A. Hill directors. 



JOHNSON COUNTY'S SHARE IN WARFARE 

MILITIA 

In the i)i()neer period of Johnson county, probably as early 
as '36 or '37, a Militia rci^iment was ori>anized. Col. Hickey 
and Maj. Neheniiah Cravens were the elected officers. The 
general muster was at Clarksville, and company musters were 
at different i)laces over the county. 

RE\'OLUTIOXARY 

So far as known, only four Revolutionary soldiers ever im- 
mii>rated to this part of Arkansas. Two of them ;m ])urie(i in 
the county and a possible third. 

In the Horsehead cemetery at Sprini^hill, Maj. Henry Francis 
is known to be buried. Philip Jones took out a land grant in 
Township 9, in 1839 and tlrew a pension as a Revolutionary 
Soldier but his exact burial spot is not known. Another whose 
name was Arbough lived in Johnson county and dou])tless died 
here. Rurr Zachery whose identity as a Revolutionary vet- 
eran was known, and who took out land grants in Townships 8 
and 9 in the years 183() and 1839, died while on the Indian fron- 
tier during the Mexican War. He is buried in the National 
Cemetery at Ft. Gibson, Okla. 

SOLDIERS OF 1812 

To name the number of veterans of the war of 1812 who 
came to Johnson county is impossible, but from records of the 
immigration we learn that a provision from the Government of 
one hundred and sixty acres of land to each of them caused 
many to settle in this country. However, in tracing the history 
of the early settlers of Johnson county, it is found that almost 
all of those who were old enough to enter the service in 1812 
were veterans of that war. 

WAR WITH MEXICO IX 184IJ 

When Arkansas had been a state only a few years, and her 
])eoi)le were begiiming to api)reciate a peace and contentment 
free from Indian troul)les and the fear of wild beasts, they were 
called upon to participate in a war with the country of Mexico. 

Although Johnson county at that time possessed only a few 
thousand souls, two companies of volunteers readily responded 



118 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

and marched away with much confidence and in high spirits in 
the early summer of 1846. 

Mexico at that time was more or less a country of story — 
so far away did it seem with miles and miles that could be covered 
only on horseback or in ox wagons. Very few persons whom 
anyone liad ever seen had been there. While this fact gave 
zest to the already adventurous spirit of the youth, it added anx- 
iety to the weary hearts of those left behind. All the more so 
because in those days newspapers, even with the most progress- 
ive citizens, were weekly events. Many persons did not receive 
them so often, — some not at all. Letters were often a month or 
months old when received. Therefore we cannot wonder that 
Mexico seemed a strange and foreign country. 

Capt. George Washington Patrick commanded a company 
of mounted volunteers registered for service in the little village of 
Clarksville. His associate officers were John Y. Hill, 1st Lieut, 
and James Fagan, 2nd Lieut. This company was sent to 
Mexico under Col. Yell. They participated in the battle of 
Buena Vista from whicli some of them were destined never to 
return. 

The commissioned officers of a company organized in the 
western part of the county were Capt. Pies Collins, Lieutenants 
Thomas Gilland and Ruff Ward. This com])any was placed in the 
Battalion Regiment of Arkansas' Volunteers, consisting of ap- 
proximately five hundred men, under the command of Col. Wm. 
Gray of Clarksville, who was, prior to hostilities, a practicing 
physician. Olinver Basham was the Sergeant Major of this 
Battalion. These troops were sent to Ft. Gibson, Indian Terri- 
tory, to guard the frontier in lieu of the regular soldiers who 
went from there to the fighting zone. Lieut. Ward was later 
transferred to activities in Mexico and when peace was made he 
returned home with three medals in his possession, won by his 
daring acts of bravery. 

A few of these soldiers who survived this war and became 
prominent citizens later were — John W. Patrick, John D. Adams, 
J. G. Connelly, Seth Howell. James F. Fagan, G. W. Patrick, 
Olinver Basham, Henry Butts, Hugh Wilson, J. F. Hill, Abraham 
Laster, Tom King, Cater Lee, Marcus Hill, John Pern% J. R. 
Hickev and John Turner. 



CIVIL WAR PERIOD 

i8()i-i<s()r) 

The period of the Civil War is (ioul)lless llie darkest lliis 
country has ever known. The days of tlie early part of 1861 
were filled with an anxiety unequaled in the history of the state. 
Apprehension was uppermost in the minds of all thinking people. 
A crisis was coming whicli no one seemed to he ahle to avert. 

Governor Rector who was elected on an ind^'pendent ticket 
against the regular Democratic nominee had heen in office but a 
short time. The Arkansas legislature was in session. In the 
Senate of that body sat tlie Hon. Augustus M. Ward of Clarks- 
ville, while in the House were two of Johnson county's represent- 
ative citizens, — Littleberry Robinson and Jordan E. Cravens. 
Responsibility fell heavily upon these gentlemen as well as the 
whole of the body. They did not feci that the people had placed 
in them at the time of their election, the power to vole on so 
momentious a question as the pending struggle. 

At the suggestion of Gov. Rjctor, however, this legislature 
did vote that the matter should be left with the people, the same 
to be determined by the vole of 111? i)C()ple. 

A convention composed of delegates from each county 
seemed a plausible way to a just conclusion; but this too niet 
strong oi)position since many persons felt that such an act 
would tend to agitate rather than alleviate the aln-ady growing 
discontent. The element for the convention held that once these 
delegates were elected, should the stati' be unable to avoid war, 
they would be officially ready to decide the attitude the state 
should take in the conflict. The legislature also voted that sliould 
the convention ticket carry, each county should be allowed the 
same number of delegates as there were members in the lower 
house of the state legislature. 

The vote was cast, "Convention" or "No Convention." This 
was submitted to the people on Eeb. 18, 1861. The ticket "Con- 
vention" carried and in accordance with a proclamation by the 
governor, the convention convened on March 4, 1861. \\'. W. 
Floyd and Felix I. Ratson represented Johnson county in this 
momentous assemblage. David Walker of Washington county 
was elected President. 



120 HISTORY OP^ JOHNSON COUNTY 

The sentiment of the majority of the members of the con- 
vention was strongly in favor of the state remaining in the old 
Union, but at the same time a stronger determination called forth, 
by vote, a resolution stating that Arkansas would resist any at- 
tempt to coerce any seceding state by armed force. The conven- 
tion adjourned to meet next on Aug. 19, 1861, unless called soon- 
er by the chairman. 

The general belief of the people was that coercion would not 
be permitted by Congress, but their faith and hopes were blight- 
ed when that body determined that war would be declared on any 
seceding state. President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling 
for 75000 men to ]nit down the reljellion. This could mean 
nothing but W'ar. 

The trend of circumstances was now rapidly grappling the 
country and the fangs of war were closing inevitably upon the 
people, — war inconceivable yet uncontrollable. The convention 
that had closed with each member hoping that peaceable terms 
would be rapidly reached was now being called together again 
within five weeks instead of five months, to determine the po- 
sition that Arkansas should take in the turmoil. 

There was not much left for Arkansas to do save secede, 
since Congress had declared war on the seceding states in direct 
opposition to the resolution passed by the Convention. When, 
again on May 6, 1861, those same gentlemen came together 
they knew it meant war. The only question left to settle 
was a matter of choice as to i)Osition. Never was there a more 
solemn body of citizens assembled in the state than when this 
vote for secession was taken. A profound silence prevailed, 
though an undercurrent of intense excitement was evident. 
When the final count was being registered and those men who 
had held out all along against a break with the union cast their 
votes one after another, in sympathy with the South, the pre- 
vious silence gave way to great roars of applause. There was only 
one dissenting vote. Arkansas, a soutiiern state, felt honor bound 
to stand by and fight with her sister states and share their victory 
or defeat as the case might be. 

At tliat time W. K. Sebastian and C. 11 Mitcliell were repre- 
senting Arkansas in the United States Congress. Mr. Sebastian 
was exi)elled for expressing his synipatliy with the South. Mr. 
Mitchell came home when the state seceded. The Congressmen 



WARFARE 121 

elected shortly before the eontiiel were never sedted. This dis- 
trict was represented in the Confederate Congress by Felix I. 
Batson of Clarksville. 

So thorongldy had tlu' growing discontent i)enetrated the 
whole of the United States that even while Arkansas hojx'd she 
might avoid a definite decision in the matter the possibility of a 
neutrality was soon known to be impossible without trooi)s of her 
own. Therefore the call went forth for voliniteers. 

When on April 19, Governor Rector ordered that Ft. Smith 
be seized and occupied by state troops, Capt. J. F. Hill and Capt. 
Solon Bourland, who were veterans of the Mexican War, were 
requested to secure volunteers and proceed to the border city. 
Ca])t. ?Iill being a Johnson county man, at once called for troops 
in this section and many volunteered. 

They went by boat uj) the river. Many men all along the 
way joined them. Ft. Smith was reached under cover of dark- 
ness and they awaited daylight to attack the Federals who were 
holding the Fort. When morning came it was learned that the 
U. S. Troops had evacuated during the night taking all their po- 
sessions with them. Capt. Bourland, who was later a Col- 
onel of the Confederacy, was given charge of the place under the 
command of Gen. X. B. Burrow. Capt. Hill and most of his men 
returned to their respective homes. A few of them however, re- 
mained in Ft. Smith and joined a volunteer company which was 
being recruited by Caj)t. Thomas Lewis at that time for three 
months' service. 

Immediately upon the return of these men Capt. Hill ])egan, 
under orders from the state, to call for volunteers for the three 
months* duration. Thomas King and Lynas Armstrong also se- 
lected a place for registration and each called for volunteers. 
These three companies were soon complete and tlie gentlemen 
who effected the mobilization were elected Captains of the re- 
spective companies. 

A few weeks later Arkansas had joined the rest of the South 
and companies for the cause of the Confederacy were being raised. 
In the month of July these three state companies were mustered 
into the regular Confederate service together with all like troops 
over the state. 

Capt. John F. Hill's company was mustered into service at 
Fayetteville as a unit of the 16th regiment under Col. McRae, 



122 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

July 18, 1861. 

The company commanded by Capt. Thomas King was as- 
signed to the 4th Arkansas Infantry under Col. Gration. Capt. 
Armstrong and followers were later mustered into the Arkansas 
Infantry commanded by Col. Carrol. 

During the four long years of this terrible war many compan- 
ies were organized in this county and many changes made both 
in the commands and in the personnel. 

The following is a list as nearly complete as could be gathered 
at this late day, of the men who organized companies and the reg- 
iments to which they belonged when first mustered into service: 
Capt. Olinver Basham, Churchiirs Regiment of Mounted Volun- 
teers; Cajit. J. W. Perry, J. F. Hill's Regiment; Capt. Henry Butts, 
Churchill's Regiment; Capt. Hall McConnell, Gordon's Regiment; 
Capt. Geo. Newton, Jackson's Regiment; Capt. Joe Turner, J. F. 
Hill's Regiment. 

Col. J. E. Cravens who enlisted as a private in Capt. Olinver 

FOOT NOTE — Each of the five companies org-anized in tlie town of Clarks- 
ville were in turn presented with a Confederate Flag- of silk that had been 
made by the women of the city. Tlie presentation of each ensign was by some 
young lady with much solemnity and ceremony. 

On the occasion of the departure of Co. "C" of Col. J. F. Hill's Regiment, 
Miss Lyde Davis was chosen to present that symbol of love to the out-going- 
patriots. James Yearwood who was the Flag Bearer of the company received 
it into custody. 

Away they marched, those boys in gray, with that beautiful flag floating 
in the breeze, — a reminder of pleasant memories behind them and duties 
formidable before them. When the.ir si)irits were gay the flag hung high; 
when the boys were worn and tired, the old flag drooped too — ^and sometimes 
it trailed in the dust, for many, of those lads were left in the dust. When 
Capt. Wesley Clark breathed his last on the battle field at Corinth, some boy in 
the company remembered their emblem. And when they were taken prisoners 
at Port Hudson the flag went too. Private soldiei's were often paroled, but 
the officers were held. However, many of them managed to slip away. 
Capt. Yearwood made his escape, but in doing so he did not forget the old flag. 
After almost four years of the hardships of war, the Flag Bearer who had 
marched away so proudly with his comrades, came back alone, tattered and 
torn, — both he and the flag. After days of iirivation and starvation, with 
those "Stars and Bars" encircling his body underneath his worn suit of gray, 
Capt. Yearwood reached the old home county and gave the flag into the keep- 
ing of Miss Rebecca Clark, a sister of Capt. Clark. Today that old relic is in 
the custody of the History Commission of the State. It is in a fair state of 
preservation, and even though bullet holes and many signs of wear stain its 
surface, they only enhance its value. 

Capt. Yearwood did not go back to the firing line, but a short time after 
his return home he decided that something should be done to free the county 
from the terror of foot burning and other atrocities. Therefore he gathered a 
force of men, — whoever would volunteer, and started for the mountains. Capt. 
James Garrett. Lieut. Davis. Lieut. Watts, Robt. Jackson, Abe Miller and 



WARFARE 123 

Basham's comi)any was soon i>;iven i)r()ni()tions the last of wliich 
was to have been Major General but the official papers had not 
arrived when the surrender came. J. F. Hill who ori>anized the 
first state tro()i)s was honored early in the war by the i)refix of 
Colonel. 

Olinvc r Hashain \\ ho orifanized the first company of llic Con- 
federacy in [hv county was later gi\en the rank of Lieutenant 
Colonel. 

This county was the home of three Majors of the Confeder- 
acy; Hall McConnell, Lorenzo Swagerty and Hut>h Wilson. 

Major McConnell was awaiting the proi)er credentials to ac- 
cept the rank of Colonel when he met his untimely death at Oak 
Hill on March 22. 1<S()3. Major Hugh Wilson did service in the 
commissary department of Churchill's Regiment. Some Lieu- 
tenants who rose to the rank of Caj)tain were: J. G. Connelly, 
James Yearwocd, Calviii Rasham, Jnmis Garrett, W. H. McCon- 
nell, Howell, and J. C. Hill. Some LieutLuanis whose 

names have sifted through, as it were, arc: Robt. Laster, Ki Rlack- 
ard, Tom King, John R. McCojmell, Vincent Blackard, Xewt John- 
sen, Tom AVocd, Abe Martin, John Farmer, W. Taylor and J. 
Partain. Three gentlemvn who are among the few living veter- 
ans of today and who were mere lads early in the *()0\s and who 
served as orderlies in thrir respective commands are: J. V. 
Hughes under Capt. J. W. May; Robt. W. Gray under Capt. Olin- 



William Mann were some of the boys who volunteered. When they were 
about ten miles north of Clarksville and had just begun to ascend the incline 
they were attacked fi-om ambush and Capt. Yearwood and Lieut. Davis were 
instantly ki'led. Lieut. Watts then took command and they scouted the 
enemy before returning and taking- the lifeless forms of their comrades and 
inaking- their wa>- homeward again where they secretly buried them. 

Another incident worthy of mention was when Dr. Wm. Gray was honored 
with the rank of Colonel in the Mexican War. The people of ClarksA'ille 
who already loved their townsman and physician, pui'chased a saljer of much 
beauty and value and presented it to him. He marched away with it. new 
and shining, and after two years of that conflict returned with the cherished 
gift not much the worse for wear. He laid it away and within a few years 
sickened and died. His vault lies beside the main driveway in Oakland 
Cemetery, and when by chance one of today stops at his enclosure the inscrip- 
tion there can be read. l)Ut with difficulty — so long has it been since he died. 

After a time, as the years i)assed, his widow, Emmeline, was married to 
J. F. Hill and when the call of the '60's came and this little woman saw 
another husband marching away to war, she took from seclusion that sheath 
and saber and gave it to him. When Capt. Hill was promoted to Col. Hill, so 
much did he regret to leave his home boys, that he might materially express 
his appreciation of them, this saber was given into the keeping of his successor, 
Capt. Wesley Clark, from whose dead body on the battle field of Corinth it 
was taken by a Federal Lieutenant. 



124 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

ver Basham and James G. Coffee under Capt. J. F. Hill. 

The activities of the various companies are not known but 
all that could he i>athcred are recorded here. Some are given 
much space while others who were perhaps more active cannot 
be chronicled because of lack of information. 

BATTLK OF OAK HILL OX WILSOX'S CREEK 

Col. Churchill's regiment having marched through northern 
Arkansas and southern Missouri had met few difficulties when 
they encountered Cen. Lyon and his army at Wilson's Creek 
where on August 10, 1861 the first battle of consequence west of 
the Mississippi river was fought. The conflict doubtless brought 
more casulties to the population of Johnson county than any 
other battle during the four years of turmoil. The real meaning 
of war was coming to this peace-loving people as over the one tele- 
graph wire through the county came the messages. The six 
long hours through which the fighting was in progress spread a 
terrible depression and anxiety over all the county while loved 
ones awaited authentic reports from the battle field which, when 
received, caused great sorrow among the people. Some who 
were killed outright were: Joe Towel, Robt. James, Joel Smith, 
Thomas King, Vincent Blackard, Lew Slate and Thomas Spears. 
Among the wounded were: J. N. Brown, Robt. Manley, J. E. 
Cravens, John Harn, Alec Rose, Hall McConnell, Abe Lensey, 
John Grace, J. L. Farmer, Jap Newton and John Morgan. Abe 
Lensey and Jap Newton died from wounds a short time after and 
J, L. Farmer lost the use of an arm which was amputated some 
years later. Cajjt. Olinver Basham, J. C. Hill, John Rose, Hall 
McConnell and Robt. W. Gray were among those who escai)ed in- 
jury. Dr. J. P. Mitchell who put aside his "pill boxes" and enlist- 
ed in Capt. Basham's company as a i)rivate was also uninjured. 
It is said that when the fight was well spent and his comrades lay 
around him dead and dying, he threw aside his gun and went to 
work to assuage the suffering as much as ])ossible with the know- 
ledge that the science of his profession had taught him. From that 
day to the end of the war he carried emergency supplies rather 
than ammunition. He was then given the rank of Lieutenant 
and when the war ended he was the commanding physician in 
the regiment to which he belonged. (ien. Lyon was killed at the 
Oak Hill battle. 



WARFARE 125 

At the next roll call of ('.apt. I^asiiain's C.()mi)any only eleven 
nien answered. Soon afterward the eoni|)any was reorganized. 
At this time Capt. Hashani was i)ronioted to the offiee of 
Major, and Lieutenant J. (). Sadler was the rankini^ eomniand- 
er for a short time, hov'ver, he soon resii*ned and went to his 
liome south of the river where he raised another company. Lieut. 
Calvin Basham, a hrother of the former Captain was then elected 
to fill the vacancy. 

This company, the first ori»anized under the Confederate 
Government in Johnson county, had fought battles and encount- 
ered many difficulties all the way Ihrouoh northern Arkansas the 
states of Missouri, Kentucky and into North Carolina without one 
time turning" back when the war ended. J. C. Hill who was a 
private, had risen to the rank of Captain, gone back to Johnson 
county and organized a comi)any and returned. At the time of 
the surrender hv was in command of the regiment. Major 
Basham had been killed in battle at Pilot Knol), Missouri, Sep- 
tember 23, 1864. 

COT.. .1. F. HlljyS REGniEXT 

When J. F. Hill was transferred to th;.> east of the Mississippi 
river and the title of Colonel was given him, three companies 
organized in Johnson county were placed in his regiment. The 
company, which he had originallj' organized, was now under 
Capt. Wesley Clark and was known as Co. "C" of that regiment. 
Capt. J. G. Perry was commander of Company "B", while 
Capt. Geo. Turner who had organized a company on the south 
side of the Arkansas river, was the commander of Company "A". 

Capt. Wesley Clark of Co. "C" was killed at the battle of 
Corinth, Miss., and Lieut. J. G. Connelly thi-n became Captain 
and served until he was sent home a few months later on re- 
cruiting duty. James Yearwood was then made Ca])tain and 
later was taken i)ris()ner with his men at Port Hudson. Major 
Swagcrty and his regiment were also taken prisoners at this 
place, 

A number of men ^^'ere ])aroled home from this prison 
camp while almost half the original number were left behind 
never to return. They had j)articii)aled in many conflicts but 
one of the hardest fought battles was at Elkhorn where hundreds 
of stalwart youths gave up their lives. 



126 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

THE ONLY SKIRMISH IX THE COUN'TY 

In the autumn of 1863 Capt. John C. Hill had been sent 
home on recruiting duty and here met some of his comrades 
whom he had not seen since they had gone their way early in the 
war. Among them were Lieut. Ki Blackard, James Y'earwood, 
W. H. McConnell and Mort. Hardwick. 

Thirty-two recruits had been listed, the four above men- 
tioned, including \V. S. Jett, wero among them. On the afternoon 
of December 1., 1863 they had met for an outing and drill on 
Main street in Clarksville, when some one spied Federals at the 
loj) of the hill north. The Ca|)tain, to avoid a fight within the 
city limits, took the lead at once and rode "west to a point just out- 
side of the corporation where they waited for the enemy to follow. 
\Yhen the Federals did not appear Captain Hill asked for volun- 
teers to return and learn the reason, if possible. \Yilliam Cravens 
and Mort Hardwick rode back but they fomid that the enemy had 
turned and gone back in the direction whence it came. 

This little company of poorly equipped recruits galloped 
north in pursuit. They reached a point two miles beyond thr 
top of Rrd Lick mountain when the smoke from the camp fires 
of the Federals could be plainly seen. The day was cold and 
disagreeable. Taking every precaution lest they be discovered, 
they crept ui)on the enemy. This comi)any of U. S. soldiers, ar- 
rayed in first class order for battle, were not exi)ecting trouble, 
else doubtless the little band of Confederates could not have won 
so vict{)riously. 

\Mien thj firing began the soldiers in ijhu' scattered, some 
escai)ed into the thicket, some snatched bridles and fled on 
horseback, some were wounded, two were dead, and on:" was 
taken i)rij()ner. 

The Union soldiers proved to be the Johnson county coiii- 
j)any unck'r Capt. Casey. The two men who lost their lives wviv 
Geo. ^Y. Cin'onister of Hagarville and Lieutenant Hollingsworth 
from the state of Kansas. 



FOOT NOTE — Geo. W. Chronister lies buried in a little cemetery six miles 
northwest of Clarksville. A stone marks the place where they laid him and 
the day he died. It also attests the bitterness and enmity that comes with war 
from which the love of peace, friendship or blood ties cannot escape if 
opinions differ. While in peace times those same differences would amount 
to nothinfi moi-e than fi-iendl.v discussions. 



WARFARE 127 

FEDERAL TROOPS IN JOHNSON COUNTY 

Till re was only a small per cent of the population of the 
county who remained true to the old I'nion. Even thouiiih 
many persons had been strong advocates of the V. S. Government 
prior to hostilities, only a few^ of them held out or else faik'd to 
follow the general altitude of the state at large. There were less 
than two hundred soldiers in the Federal army from the county. 
One com|)any was organized with Capt. C. C. Casey as com- 
mander. Jini Pelts was 1st Lieutenant and Mose Pearson 2nd. 
Lieutenant. J. M. Laster, who is today a resident of Harmony, 
was 1st Sergeant, but when Lieut. Pearson resigned, he was made 
2nd Lieutenant. 

This organization v.as Co. "A" of the 2nd. Arkansas Infantry, 
LT. S. A. A few Johnson county men were numbers of Co. "K" 
of the 2nd Arkansas Infantry U. S. A. which was a Sebastian 
county unit with Capt. John Boyle and Lieut. Rethel in charge. 
Both of these companies were mustered in at Ft. Smith and 
served imder Brigadier General Thayer, and Colonel Eugene 
Stevens. They participated in the battles of Prairie de Ann, 
Jenkins Ferry, Camden Raid and others. Co. "A" was dis- 
charged by Col. Stevens August 8, 1865. 

The negro men of the county scattereil. Some of them 
joined the Union forces, others did not wash to participate but 
were taken. No negro man of conscript age was left. A small 
per cent returned. 

REGULAR TROOPS ENTER THE COUNTY 

Confederate — During the winter of 1861 Col. Thomas J. 
Churchill and his army camped south of Clarksville on the spot 
where today stands the mining camp of Jamestown. There was 
much illness in the ranks; hence the Confi'derate Scjuare in the 
principal necropolis at Clarksville, known today as Oakland 
Cemeteiy. 

The Presbyterian church on the corner of Cravens and 
Cherry streets, the county court house and the Seminary at the 
lop of the hill on the south side of West Sevier street were all 
used as general hospitals, while an old log residence that stood for 
many years on Colleg.? avenue was the hospital for small pox 
patients. 

The following spring Gen. Churchill and his troops marched 
awav to the south. 



128 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The Seminary was burned in the Fall of 1862, but the Pres- 
bjicrian church was used by the Federal troops throughout the 
war for a hospital. They buried their dead, also in Oakland 
Cemetery, in a plot of ground which today the Ladies' Cemetery 
Association has set apart as a beautiful flower garden. The 
Federal deatl were sui)posed to have been exhumed in the Fall of 
1867 and taken to Ft. Smith. Some of them were taken there, 
bul not all for in after years each time the grave diggers attempted 
to excavate they came in contact with caskets; hence the flower 
garden. 

Col. Sims and his Cavalry Regiment of Texas wintered in 
Johnson County in 1861. They were camped at a place on 
Horsehead Creek five miles up from the river. 

Federal. — In the Spring of 1862 Col. Cloud of Kansas with 
his well equipped troops, having fouglit their way through the 
mountains of Missouri and Arkansas, entered Johnson county and 
marched into Clarksville where they recuperated for a few days 
and passed on, proclaiming themselves the victors of all the 
country through which they had passed. 

Col. Stevens and Col. AVaugh, with their respective regiments 
of the 2nd Arkansas, on December 23, 1862 established a "Post" 
at Clarksville. They appropriated the residence of Congress- 
man Batson located on the south side of the Public Square on the 
corner of Central avenue where they established headquarters, 
using the little Methodist church next door for their supply 
station. 

Col. Stevens and his troops were here only a short time be- 
fore being sent to Fort Smith, leaving Col. Waugh in command of 
this "Post." However, tlie regiments of Col. Cloud, Col. Hind- 
man and Col. Stevens were here at intervals, either for a sojourn 
of a few weeks or months, or were, perhaps, only ])assing 
through. 

After establishing" the "Post" they were undisturbed for more 
than a year, thus becoming decidedly comfortable and quite at 
home. Tliis, however, was a long period for conquest to last 
without difficulty, and in the enemy's country too. Fate had 
decreed, or perhaps it was the army of (Icn. Price that decided a 
sudden change would be good for them. Messages came in, 
scouting parties retm'ued, reports from everywhere confirmed 



WARFARE 129 

the approach of Gen. Price and his army bearing in this direction. 
His strength was reported to be so great that Col. Waugh realized 
there was no time to be wasted, therefore without endeavoring to 
remove their supplies they attempted to burn them, together with 
all buildings which hoarded provisions. On the beautiful morn- 
ing of May 19, 1864, while a regiment of soldiers were marching 
away to the west, a black cloud of smoke was curling its way 
toward the sky, as many houses in the town of Clarksville were 
being consumed by incendiary flames. The little church on 
the corner had been the main objective of the departing army, 
however, since the food stored therein would otherwise fall into 
the hands of the enemy. 

Many of the burning buildings were extinguished by the 
women, but the church was burned. Still, as the flames \\('r;.' 
ravishingly consuming that precious food, every head and hand 
in accord were bent on saving as much as possible — Dozens of 
barrels of flour were rolled to distances of safety; much meat, 
the scarce article of salt, and many other essentials, were hastily 
removed. 

\Yhen Gen. Price arrived with his gray-clad army, they were 
welcomed with rejoicing. No woman in the little town slept 
that night, so busy were they all preparing food. Biscuits, 
biscuits, hundreds of biscuits, were baked for the soldiers to take 
on their march of tomorrow. 

They passed on as had the other army a few hours before, 
leaving behind them a day marked with memories to live through- 
out the years to come. The threads of smoke were still winding 
their way upward from the smoldering embers of the first church 
the county had built and the new one beside it, almost complete, 
also lay in ruins. The bell which had hung high in the little steeple 
and had tolled the death of niany a passing lad, now lay low in the 
ruins. The material destruction of that day has loiig since 
passed into oblivion but the memory of it still lives and will 
doubtless live in the history of the county through many years to 
come. 

After the Confederate army had passed on, the town was left 
alone, — only a village of women and children who were al\\'ays 
apprehensive lest Bushwhackers should take advantage of the 
situation. In time, however, before the cool days of autumn, Col. 
Stevens and his regiment returned and again opened the "Post". 



130 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



They were in Clarksville at the time of the surrender and had not 
yet gone when President Lincohi was assassinated. 

EFFECTS OF WAR IN THE COUNTY 

Apart from the skirmish mentioned before, there were no 
battles fought within the immediate borders of this county. 
Civil War, however, does not consist alone of battles and skirm- 
ishes. Robbers, bushwhackers and murderers took the oppor- 
tunity of the time for their prowl, and Johnson county was no 
exception to the rule. Often there would not be a male resident 
over thirteen years of age for miles around and Clarksville was 
many times a village of women and children, pillaged at will by 
unscrupulous persons. These nomadic emissaries of the devil 
look occasion to pay nocturnal visits to almost every home in the 
county. And thus, Johnson county passed, with the rest of the 
South, the darkest period in her history. 

COMPANY "H", 2 6TH ARKANSAS INFANTRY, C. S. A. 
AUGUST 13, 1862 



Jno. W. May, Capt. 
T. A. Coad, 1st Lieut. 
R. P. Laster, 2nd Lieut 
A. N. Martin, 3rd Lieut. 



Allen, F. D. 
Alston, John 
Brown, J. R. 
Brown, Noah 
Brown, O. W. 
Brown, J. M. 
Brown, L. 
Brown, J. A. 
Boen, Pinkney 
Been, J. M. 
Boen, Jesse 
Barber, Wm. 
Baskin, W. M. 
Bean, Jas. 
Basham, James 
Blackburn, Jno. 
Collier, H. C. 
Congo, O. D. 
Clay, J. C. 
Cowan, G. E. 
Clark, C. P. 
Cosey, W. E. 
Casey, A. J. 
Coose, G. W. 
Cummins, Wm. 
Drew, Tom 
Davis, W. R. 
Davis, J. F. 



J. M. Laster, 1st Sergt. James Drew, 1st Cpl. 
J. Temple, 2nd Sergt. J. W. Willis, 2nd Cpl. 

W. H. Williams, 3rd Serg G. W. Partain, 3rd Cpl. 
John Reed, 4th Sergt. J. C. Martin, 4th Cpl. 

G. W. Hughes, 5th Sergt 

Hunt, John Pearson, Lewis 

HoUoway, M. Posey, Wm. 

Hughes, J. V. Poteet, A. J. 

Hardgraves, Thad. Potts, J. W. 

Houston, E. W. Posey, B. M. 

Hardcastle, L. "K. Pittman, I. 

Hibbs, N. J. 

Jones, D. S. 

Key, Jas. 

King, Alfred 

King, J. J. 

Kirby, T. L. 

King, John 

Lee, Edwin 

Langford, J. N. 

Manley, Robt. 

May, T. K. 

Murry, Wyatt 

Murry, J. C. 

Murry, Henry 

Mahone, J. H. 

Mooney, R. W. 

Needham, J. D. 

Needham, W. M. 

Needham, Thos. 



Dunlap. F. M. 
Dunn, G. G. 
Davis, J N. 
Dickerson, N. B. 
Dickerson, T. J. 
Dickerson, W. C. 
Damerson, H. W. 
Davis, Pinkney 
Dunlap, W. F. 
Daniel, Geo. 
Eubanks, J. A. 
Edwards, A. J. 
English, W. J. 
Farmer, J. C. 
Frazier, R. 
Fleming, R. B. 
Garrett, Colby 
Gray, G. R. 
Gray, T. H. 
Goodman, J. 
Gray, J. M. 
Garner, G. W. 
Garner, L. 
Hightower, Jno. 
Hardgraves, J. D. 
Hunt F. F. 
Higgs, W. B. 
Hardgraves, J. N. 



Pitts, L. W. 
Rogers, Wm. 
Rogers, R. A. 
Sheldon, J. W. 
Sinclair, R. W. 
Summors, Wesley 
Shields, J. M. 
Stewart, J. G. 
Suiter, W. H. 
Sullivant, H. R. 
Stout, R. H. 
Temple, J. C. 
Tucker, J. M. 
Wise, John 
Willis, J. M. 
Wallace, G. W. 
Wright, Jno. 
Whorton, J. V. 
Williams, Allen 



Penningham, B. D. Walts, W. J. 
Powell, R. B. Wallace, Robt. 

Price, W. C. Wright, J. M. 

Yearwood, J. M. 



WARFARE 



131 



COMPAXY "C", FIRST ARKANSAS MOrXTEI) RIFLES 

The original imister roll of Company "C", First Arkansas 
Mounted Rifles, has l)een lost or destroyed. The following list 
of men who served in this company of Confederates, going out 
from Johnson county, was furnished from memory by J. J. 
Taylor of Ludwig, J. B. Porter of Harmony, and Dr. Jasper N. 
Boyd of Austin, Texas, members of the Company: 

Olinver Basham, first Captain of the company. 

J. P. Mitchell, 1st Lieutenant. 

Thomas King', 2nd Lieutenant. 

J. O. Sadler, 3rd Lieutenant; promoted Captain 

Calvin Basham. elected Captain. 

John C. Hill, last Captain of the company. 



Adney, J. M. 
Adney, Martin 
Allen, Gus 
Anderson, Dick 
Arnold, W. L. 
Baskin, T. J. 
Baskin, W. R. 
Bartlett, J. P. 
Boyd, J. N. 
Bog-an, F. 
Bozier, J. 
Cravens, Jerry 
Cravens, Mi 
Chappel, Sam 
Clemmons, John 
Center, F. M. 
Dover, William 
Davis, Mike 
Durham, J. J. 
Edwai ds, Charles 
Edwards, Byrd 
Foster, Joe 
Fleming, William 
Farmer, Robert 
French, James 
Gray, R. W. 
Grounds, Robert 
Gwaitney, F. M. 
Gillian, Israel 
Gillian, Pink 
Gilbreath, Sam 
Gibson, James 
Grantham, Louis 
Grantham, oJhn 
Houser, Adam 
Houser, William 
Hamm, Polk 
Horn, John 
Hodg'e, Anderson 
Hug-hes, Ed 



Hickey, Obe 
Hixson, Horace 
Jackson, Andrew 
Johnson, J. M. 
Jainison, — — 
Jones, J. C. 
Johnson, Sol 
Johnson, Joe 
Jolly, Sidney 
Kirby. Wyatt 
Lee, Bud 
Laster, Abe 
Laster, Burl 
Laster, Hardin 
Lowe, Sam 
Long-, Sol 
Love, James 
Llndsey, Abe 
Morgan, Robert 
Morg-an, John 
Mathews, Ike 
Matthews. James 
May, Joe 
May, Moses 
May, Wilse 
Mann, Thomas 
Moore, Dock 
McKee, William 
Norvill, David 
Nard. Lafayette 
Newton, J. W. 
Newton, Whit 
Newton, Jasper 
Newton, K. K. 
Newton, George 
Nedry, Bud 
Ogilvie, W. S. 
Ottenhimer, Abe 
Ottenhimer, Phillip 
Otry, George 



Price, J. R. 
Park, C. B. 
Porter, J. B. 
Porter, C. C. 
Payne, Joe 
Pearson, J. W. 
Patterson, Will 
Patterson, Robert 
Perry, Charlie 
Rose, John M. 
Rose, A. N. 
Robinson, Andy 
Shropshire, H. C. 
Swift, F. M. 
Stone, J. M. 
Scaggs, Ben 

Mat 

Tom 

Robert 

Joe 

Riley 



Spears, 
Spears, 
Smith, 
Smith, 
Sindle, 
Tate, Wash 
Tyrus, Bud 
Terrentine, James 
Taylor, J. J. 
Thompson, William 
Thompson, Si 
Thompson, Mi 
Thompson, Bully 
Wilson, Will 
Wilson, H. G. 
Williams, Robert 
Williams, John 
Weeks, John 
Watts, W. J. 
Watts. A. J. 
Watts. John 
Wallace. Charles 
Zachery, A. N. 



132 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

WORLD WAR 

When 'le United States declared war on Germany in 1917 
and Dr. Howard Brewer called for volunteers to form a Johnson 
County conijiany, 415 men reported for enlistment. Of this num- 
ber 161 were accepted as physically fit. During the sun^met of 
1917 these recruits camped on the courthouse lawn until they 
were mustered into the service as Company L, of the Third Ark 
ansas Regi'oent. They were sent to Fort Logan H. Roots on 
September 1, 1917. After thirty days of initiation work there, 
and the company had been recruited to 175 men, they were order- 
ed to Camp Beauregard, La. Before they detrained at this place 
orders were issued for Company L of the Third Arkansas Regi- 
ment to be merged into the 141 Machine Gun Battalion. They 
were then recruited up to 210 men. 

After ten months of strenuous training, these soldiers were 
ready for service with the American forces on foreign soil. An 
entrainment on July 30, 1918, landed in Newport New^s, where, 
following a lapse of five days, they embarked aboard a Russian 
immigrant ship, the Kirsk. After an uneventful trip of thirteen 
days this transport landed at Brest, France, from which place 
they were removed to Vingul, near Bourges, for further training. 
In October 1918, having subsequently been merged into the 141st 
Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun Battalion, they were sent to Langres, 
where orders were awaited for services on the front, when the 
Armistice was signed. 

CAPTAIN HOWARD BREWER 

In civil life, prior to the war. Dr. Brewer was a practitioner 
in Clarksville, and a member of the Medical Reserve Corps of the 
U. S. Army. He had previously been on duty in the General 
Army and Navy Hospital at Hot Springs. When the call came 
for the regular army to assemble on the Mexican border. Dr. 
Brewer, who was a First Lieutenant, reported at once for duty. 
He was sent to Fort Sam Houston with the 11th Cavalry and given 
service at the Base Hospital. He was with General Pershing, as a 
member of the 7th Cavalry, on his expedition into Mexico. For 
a time Lieut. Brewer was a surgeon of the Medical Corps of the 
7th Cavalry. Later he was detailed to Motor Ambulance Com- 
panies, 7 and 3, at the Base Hospital in Deming, New Mexico. 
He returned from the Mexican border to organize a company for 
the World War. 



WARFARE 



133 



A LIST OF COMPANY "L". THIRD ARKANSAS INFANTRY 
AS PUBLISHED IN THK CLARKSi\^ILLE DEMOCRAT 

Those names accompanied by an asterisk were the forty- 
five men selected from this company to fill in the draft of May, 
1918. From this number most of the Johnson County Casual- 
ties occurred. Many of them did not come back from France. 



Capt. Howard Brewer 
1st Lieut. Frank C. May 
2nd Lieut. 

James Hendricks, Jr. 
♦Adams, Lum 
Anthony, Charley, Sg-t. 
Arrington. OrviUe, Sgt. 
Atwell, Walter N. 
♦Barrett, John T. 
Baskin, Willie, F 
Bask in, Dewey- B. 
Baskin, Herbert 
Beck. Vernon 
*Beck, O. 
Bean, Lattie 
Blackard, Fred G. 
*Brown, George L. 
♦Brown, Sam T. 
♦Brown, Paul R. 
Breach, Zeke 
♦Brigham. Alex 
Brown,' Elmuta 
Brown. John R. 
*Burk, Wm. 
♦Bunch, Lee H. 
Beckett, Logan 
Burns, Clyde 
Burns, Sam A., Sgt. 
Burns, Floyd C. 
♦Carter, John 
♦Casey, Thomas L. 
♦Childers, John 
Chapman Alvy 
Chapman, FloycT 
Chrisman, Ira L. 
Choate, Harold 
♦Chambliss Robt. 
♦Chandler, Jeff 
Clary, James M. 
Coffman, James P. 
Chrowder, Hovert 
Curtis, Joe W. 
Davis, William G., Sgt. 
Davis, Jesse L. 
Dempsey, Buel, Sgt. 
♦Dial, Ides 
Dougan, Dean T. 
Duty, Alvin E. 
Dyer, Frank, Sgt. 
Easly, Ervan E. 
Ferrell, Chas. B. 
Fiser, James F. 
Fiser, Geo. 
Flint, Elsworth 



Gardner, Homer A. 
♦Gardner. Selver 
Geren, Wm. 
♦Gillian, John 
Green, Wm. 
Gray, John T. 
Gray, Jake 
Harris, Frank 
Harris, Chas. 
Hardgraves, Ellis 
Havener, Dewey 
Harris, Dan J., Sgt. 
♦Herriman, Clifton 
♦Henderson, George 
Herring, Mike 
Head, Ben F., Sgt. 
Hixon, Tom 
Higgs, Roland 
Hook, Oscar 
♦Hook, Walter 
Holley, Albert 
♦Haver, Claude H. 
Hodges, James H. 
Hughes, Roscoe 
Jenkins. Allen W. 
Jones, Johnnie J. 
Jones, Elmer 
King, Doc B. 
Laser, Albert 
♦Laster, Levi 
Laster, Cecil A. 
Looper, Roy, Sgt. 
♦Manning, Henry 
Martin, Seldon 
Marion, Hugh 
Martin, Arris 
McKennon, Rogers, Sgt. 
McCracken, Herbert 
Moyer, Lester 
Morris, Sigsby 
♦Morrison, Clarence 
Morrison, Tom 
♦Murry, Roy 
♦Neihouse, Geo. 
Newton, John 
Overbey, Ben 
I'ark, Chas. 
Phillips, Henry 
♦Phillips, Lonrso 
Porter, James 
♦Pratt, Paul 
♦Pritchard, Ocie 
Pendleton, Lewis 
♦Ragland, Harrison 



Rhynes, Wm. 
♦Rhynes Stanley 
Roberts, Charlie 
Rhea, John 
Roberts, Henry 
Robinson, Wm. 
♦Rogers, Clarence 
Rogers, Murrell 
♦Scoubby, John 
♦Sears, James 
Shoemaker, Lee 
♦Sharp, James 
♦Sizemore, Fred 
Simpson, John 
Smith, Harold 
♦Smith, Dalton 
S'oard, Elgin 
Spanhewer, Leonard 
Stuart, Guy 
Tatum, Virgil 
♦Uneski, Stanley 
Warren, Sherman 
Walker, Oliver 
Warren, John 
Walker, Allie 
Waldo, Herchel 
Waldo. Delmer 
Wells, Wm., Sgt. 
♦Wilkins, Len 
Willis, Dewey 
Williams, Orville 
Williams, Isaac 
Widmer, Dexter 
Dalden, Ab 

(Attached) 
Andrews, Wm. 
Bridges, John 
Bowers, Elizu 
Case, Jack 
Dixon, Sam 
Howard, Erwin 
Handley, Neal G. 
Herid, James 
Morris, Burt 
Parolette, Oreste 
Sharp, Vase 
♦Teagle, Arch M. 
Winn, A. D. 
Curtis, Oscar 
Livingston, Gurley 

(Recruits) 
Hamzy, Abraham 
TNIartin, Odes 
Jinkins, Willie 



134 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

A number of the original petit officers were transferred to 
training schools, and became commissioned officers. Among 
them were: James W. Hendricks who became a First Lieutenant 
in the 154th Infantry; S. A. Burns, a Second Lieutenant; Frank 
A. Dyer, First Lieutenant; Rogers H. McKennon, a Second Lieu- 
tenant in the Regular Army; Albert Laser, Sergeant Major. There 
were others, but all have not been learned at this time. 

The Board of Examiners for Johnson County consisted of 
the following: Sheriff D. B. Bartlett, John V. Hughes, Jr., Sec, 
and Dr. G. L. Hardgrave. 

The members of the Medical Advisory Board were. Dr. W. 
R. Hunt, Dr. J. S. Kolb, Dr. M. I. Burgess, Dr. R. N. Manley and 
Dr. P. D. McKennon, Dentist. 

The following is a list of some men whose homes were in 
Johnson County, but who enlisted away from home, and others, 
who, from circumstances, figured conspicuously: 

Lieut. Joe W. Coffman, Jr., Aviator in France and Italy for 
several months. 

Eugene Garrett served in the Regular Army on the Mexican 
Border and was Commissioned Lieutenant in the World War. 

Clarence McLane, Livingston Hardwick and Dwight Marlar 
were on the Mexican border in 1916, and served overseas. 

George Black was in France a long time. 

John W. Sallis Jr. enlisted in the 154th Inf. Band and later 
transfered to the 315th F. A. Band, 8()th Division, and was in 
France. 

T. P. Giacomini was band leader in 154th Infantry. He 
sei'\'ed in France. 

Sergt. Roy Looper was accidently killed at Camp Bauregard. 
He was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Clarksville. 

Herbert Jett was at Jefferson Barracks, in the regular army. 

Lieut. Thomas was in a dentist Corps. 

Lieut. B. E. Farmer, was in a dentist Corps. 

Lieut. R. N. Manlej' was in a medical division. 

Lieut. Brown Moore raised a company that was merged into 
another. 

Everett Williams was shell shocked and was ill many months. 

James McCalister was sent across early and made a sharp 
shooter. He was badly gassed. 

Abe Frost died of Pneumonia in France. 



WARFARE 135 

James A. Dowdy, Jr., A. M., Vanderbilt University, died of 
influenza in a Marine camp. 

Cooper Harold Langford left Harvard, and went across with 
14th R. R. Engineers. They were in the fighting zone by Sept. 
1917. Returned home April 1919. 

Corwin McLane was on the Mount Vernon that went down» 
and was in a hospital many months. 

Terrence D. Molloy enlisted May 1917, in Spokane, Wash. 
He was in Officers Training School, Camp Pike, Nov. 11, 1918. 

Harry Dunlap was killed by accident in Camp, and was given 
a military burial in Clarksville. 

Wm. R. Hunt, Jr., was in a Dentist Division in Georgia. 

Raymond May was in the Navy. 

Taylor Johnson spent many months in a German prison. 

Others in the army were, Chas. Basham, Wallace Kraus, 
Clarence Haigwood, Jack Harlan, Ralph Wilkinson, Ed Copeland, 
George Weatherton, Fletcher Thompson, William Stokes, Wil- 
liam Poynor ,Willard Hardin and Jeff McWilliams. 

W. A. Cazort, Jr., and John P. Molloy, were students for six 
months in the Harvard Radio School. Cazort served on the 
Destroyer Doucetc and the Battleship Pennsylvania; John Molloy 
^^as an operator on the North Dakota. 

Ralph Misenhimer was in the Navy. 

Jessie Allinder was in the Navy. 

Many boys eighteen years of age were examined in 1919, for 
the draft. A large number were placed in schools. 

An effort has been made to mention every boy who went 
from this county. Any name left out was for lack of information. 

LIST OF MEN WHO WERE INDUCTED OR VOLUNTEERED FROM JOHNSON 

COUNTY DURING THE WORLD WAR, AS REGISTERED IN THE 

ADJUTANT GENERALS OFFICE AT LITTLE ROCK 

Brasher, Chas. Jaggers, Chas. J. Cromer, Moody E. 

King, Vester Brazzelton, Chas. I. Roe, C. C. 

Hardesty, Lawrence Sisco, Pleas D. Og-llvie, Carl 

Davis, Lewis Garner, Oliver E. Hardie, Wm. C. 

Snow, Vester (Navy) Bethune, D. E. Husher, Arthur 

Brock, Phil Sanders, Jas. E. Russell, Guy 

Timmons. Frank Mounce, David A. Warren, James M. 

Kesner, Earnest Baker, Joe Huston, Jefferson 

Gibson, James Whitson, Thurlo Harmon, James H. 

Whittle, Jessie Walker, Ben Haynes, John M. 

Johnson, Chas. C. Honaker, John Gibson, McO.*riey 

Williams, Dennis J. Gable, Auza Collier, Jessie 

Allen, Ruby Edwards, W. M. Terry, Gus 

Acord, Luther Williams, Jas. T. Pierson, Leonard H. 



136 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



Jones, Wm. L. 
Martin, Orla C. 
Farmer, Henry P. 
Davis, Tlios. J. 
Pliillips. James 
Hamilton, Tlios. J. 
Kolb, Howard D. 
Sams, Lutiier 
Collins, Wm. M. 
Price, Merida W. 
Hawkins, Isaac 
Miller, Silvester 
Yarbrough, Hobert 
Morgan. Flaude 
Wright, Orling 
Stark, Buddie 
Mooney, John 
West, Virgil S. 
Lewis, Wm. N. 
Stewart, Ben 
Oberste, Mathias J. 
Felkins, Henry J. 
Blackburn, Ivan 
McMillen, Ira 
Chase, Harold C. 
Chronister, Jas. C. 
Thompson, Elmore 
Vire, Lewis 
Moore, Felix 
Earnest, Jas. P. 
Ketcherside, Wni. D. 
Doepel, Geo. C. 
Richard, Phillips 
Haskins, Squire 
Bean, Audie R. 
Pyron, Lonnie 
Park, Elmer G. 
Harris, Enoch 
Hardin, Chas. M. 
Wallace, Floyd H. 
Morris, Robert 
Shaip, Lawrence E. 
Voss, Scott E. 
Faucett, John P. 
Underwood, Luther 
Garrett, Eugene 
Watson, Hugh W. 
McGuire, John P. 
Woodward, Jas. E. 
Burton, Lou Allen 
Turner, Sam 
Wright, Ulysees (col. 
Barber, Chas. 
Crisu, Sam 
McMahon, Jas. W. 
Garrett, Stanford B. 
Parker, Albert M. 
Miller, Cornelius (col.) 
Wright, Oscar 
Moore, Lee A. 
Laneer, Geo. P. 



Rowbotham, Oscar R. 
Strickland, Ernest E. 
Treager, Davis C. 
Gibson, Jasper 
Dickerson, Henry 
Johnson, Clyde 
Nowatney, Thos. 
Carlton, Howard 
Estepp, McKinley 
King, Edgar 
Logan, W. H. 
Wolf, Marion 
Swin, Wm. 
Townsend, Earl 
Shamblin, Earnest 
Curtis, Roy 
Adkins, Luther 
Allen, Custer 
Garrett, Gus W. 
Mathes, Jas. W. 
Sparks, Walter S. 
Logan, Bettis B. 
Perry, Geo. (col.) 
Reitdorf, Arthur R. 
Werner, Frank 
Johnson, Roy 
Harvey, Chas. H. 
Snow, Robert J. 
Davis, Alix M., 
Terry, Cap 
Brown, Moore J. 
Blount, Elmer J. 
Lewis, Jessie 
Hudson, Homer J. 
Martin, Arthur 
Newton, Arthur (col.) 
Hill, Clem J. 
McCalister, Jas. 
King, Earl C. 
Newton, Hill 
Rhul, Henry C. 
King, Raymond C. 
Baskin, Robert T. 
Whit, Lafette 
Marvel, Chas. 
Eddington, Arch 
Ferrell, Dudley R. 
May, Othella (col.) 
Harper, Wm. I. 
Becker, John E. 
Perdue, Roger 
Walker, 41bert E. 
Gilmore. Mike 
Owens, Elmer 
Willams, Alfred L. 
Chrisman, Ney (Navy) 
Eyster, Robert M. 
Pierson, Jno. W. 
Belt, Geo. W. 
Farris, Eugene 
Thomas, Wm. L. 



Phillips, John A. 
David, James T. 
Neihouse, Frank N. 
White, Lewis S. 
Justice, Pate (col.) 
Williams, Tollie N. 
Colvett, Homer E. 
Finnell, Luther 
Curtis, Elmer 
Shoopman, Hobart 
Stephens, Luther 
Covington, Homer 
Curtis, Marion 
Willis, Felix M. 
Petray, Leroy N. 
Sparks, Grant B. 
Stumbaugh, Jno. B. 
Clary, Wm. T. 
Townsell, Jas. H. 
Cagle, Everet D. 
Price, Wm. B. 
Johnson, Taylor 
Ogilvie, Jas. L. 
Tinsley, Mike M. 
Haynes, Pinkney J. 
Doerr, Fred 
Gillian, Gus 
Metcalf, John 
Gibson, Albert 
Reynolds, Thos. W. 
Smith, Daniel B. 
Brown, Frank T. 
Chism, Noah B. 
Blamey, Thos. 
Goodwin, Jas. M. (Navy) 
Strickland, Wm. E. 
Keeth, Robert 
Mitchell, Robert L. 
Tipton, Marshall H. 
Harger, Whitney E. 
Heard, Beverly 
Friend, Wm. R. 
Scott, John W. 
Carr, Chas. R. 
Heard, Geo. E. 
Oberste, Leo 
Fredrick, Jasper M. 
Basham, Albert 
Clark, Anderson 
Henderson, Elbert L. 
Skidgell, Elmer 
Mason, John P. 
Richardson, Joe R. 
Philpot, Henry P. 
Carter, Wm. H. 
Kraus, Arville H. 
McMin, Jessie N. 
Sexton, Andy B. 
Willie, Lewis 
Sparks, Floyd 
Allen, A. K. 



WARFARE 



137 



Hon, James D. 
Robison, Ballard 
Oberste, Lewis J. 
Riedel, Martin 
Baskin, William L. 
Bryan, Arch R. 
Davis, Prank E. 
Patterson, Lee R. 
Nelson, A. 
Dobbs. John Jos. 
Thompson, Henry 
Rinke, Wm. J. 
Dowdy, Andrew J. 
Kelley, Arg-us L. C. 
Young-, Rov 
Payne, Everett 
Garrett, Harley H. 
Gibson, Lige 
Chambers, John W. 
Lund, Martin H. 
Campbell. Harry W. 
Day, Seldon 
Davenport, Colbert H. 
Geisler, Elbert 
Brown, Edwin L. 
Rog-ers, Wm. H. 
Martin, C. E. 
Jefferson, Ed 
Stokes, Geo. L. 
Spence, John L. 
Owens, Homer E. 
Byrd, Bright 
Burk, Geo. E. 
West, Arch 
Tipton, Chas. H. 
Cotton, Willie (col.) 
Hudson, Alve B. 
Darney Tom W. 
Rannals, Arch 
Blackwood, Terrance C. 
Fricke, Fredrick H. 
Alter, Aden A. 
Whitecotton, Marshall 
West, Chas. W. (col.) 
Robertson, Felix P. 
Watkins, Newman H. 
Trotter, Chester 
Whorton, True B. 
Patton, Dennis E. 
Pointer, John H. 
Chase, Arthur B. 
Nation, James 
Bagsby, John (col.) 
Whooten, Everett H. 
McAnally, John W. 
Yandall, Wm. N. 
Meadows, Silva A. 



May, Winfred (col.) 
Scott, Joseph 
Wilson, Clarence J. 
Krause, Oscar C. 
Treager, Joe C. 
Daniels, Daniel W. 
Bell. Harlan E. 
Poteet, Grover 
Warren, Geo. W. 
Croom, Herbert 
Adair, Wm. H. 
McSwain, Carper J. 
Watkins, James 
Cooper, Floyd E. 
Swain, Frank 
Marvil, Jesse 
Oneal, Pilot 
Elliott, Obediah H. 
Strope, Lawrence 
Kaufield, Wm. F. 
Sisk, Marion 
Brown, Ethel 
Byrd, Jeff D. 
Kindell, Dane A. 
Clansman, Jos. E. 
Daniels, Wm. C. 
Dunlap, Ira H. 
Watley, Ben F. (col.) 
Burns, Jeff R. 
Hill, Edgar A. 
Perry, Harry (col.) 
Collier, Virgle T. 
Justice, Roy (col.) 
Simmons, John T. 
Woodward, John W. 
Butler, Harrison H. 
Cole, Andrew I. 
Dixon, Geo. 
Blackburn, Dillon A. 
Morphis, Robert A. 
Terry, Allen 
Stevens, Jewell M. 
Croom, Jesse 
Rinke, Jos. A. 
Lancaster, Marl 
Sullivan, Hardy G. 
Bynum, Sidney 
Sprenger, Alloys 
Fleming, Thomas M. 
Ferrell, Geo. G. 
Hutchins, Edgar 
Fowler, Dennison, H. L. 
Walker, Elmer 
Hill, Wm. C. 
Ingram, Hugh 
Harger, James M. 
Byrd, Chas. N. 



England. Wm. B. 
Warnick, Wm. H. 
Jones, Winfred E. 
Bell, Hoyt H. 
Moore, Oliver P. 
Ferrell, Ruben H. 
Corley, Ulysees H. 
Smith, Earl S. 
Oberste, Emil 
Newton, Virgil A. 
Knich, Walter 
Ross, Alex 
Powell. Steifer 3. 
Roberson, A. F. 
Hale, Will 
Cox, Charlie 
Lewis, Newton 
Hardcastle, Geo. D. 
Ruhl, Herman 
Prison. James 
Travern, Joe 
Laser. Alvin 
Hignite, Ira 
Ross, Chas. 
Ritchie, Zed 
Hickman, EwelT 
Sexton, Andrew 
Foulke, Alvin 
Osgood, Vernie B. 
Brown, James A. 
Rowland, Ezkial W. 
McLane, Seth 
Hairston, Thos. I. 
Hackett, Arch 
Cochran, Rufus H. 
Caldwell, Glynn D. 
Brown, Favin E. 
Gaugh, Joe J. 
Hyden ,Wm. T. 
Newton, Albert 
Eddington, Fred 
Neviltt, Earnest L. 
Elkins, Luster 
Acord, Herbert 
Walton, Guy 
Kyle, Lee 
Cagie, James 
McCracken, Herman 
Faust, John H. 
Hill, Linnie 
Blackburn, Girvis 
Evans, Hobart 
Dobbs, Jerry 
Hardgraves, Ben 
Skidgel, Herman 
Golden, Sherman 
Garrett, Taylor C. 



138 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

COUNTY OFFICERS 

JUDGE — 1833, George Jamison; 1835, J. P. Keesie; 1836, J. L. Cravens; 1838, 
J. B. Brown; 1846. Samuel Adams; 1848, M. Rose; 1850, J. B. Brown; 1852, C. B. 
Perry; 1854, H. A. Powers; 1856, C. B. Perry; 1858, A. D. King; 1860, W. T. Hyten; 

1866, A. M. Ward; 1868,Elisha Mears; 1872-74, ; 1874, J. G. Connelley; 1878 

W. G. Tavlor; 1880, J. B. Porter; 1882, J. B. Connelley; 1884, J. B. Porter; 1888, 
J. B. Porter; 1890, J. H. Basham; 1898, P. R. Jett; 1904, J. J. Montgomery; 1910, 
P. R. Jett; 1914, J. J. Montgomery; 1016, C. H. Baskin; 1920, J. J. Montgomery. 

COUNTY CLERK — 1833, Thomas Janette; 1835. Wm. Fritz; 1836. A. M. "Ward; 
1854. J. G. Connelley; 1856, A. W. Ward; 1860, J. G. Connelley; 1866, J. B. Mc- 
Connell; 1868, R. F. Naylor; 1872. Ed Green; 1874. J. M. Thompson; 1882, Q. B. 
Povnor; 1890. Henrv L. Bunch; 1894, M. A. Moore; 1900, W. H. McPherson; 1906, 
G. N. Nation; 1910, Ben Phillips; 1914, D. B. Bartlett; 1920, Fred Russell. 

CIRCUIT CLERK — 1888. D. N. Clark; 1906. Arch Jacobs; 1910, D. N. Clark; 
1912. Herbert Bost; 1916, R. C. Temple; 1920. Oliver Moore. 

SHERIFF — 1833, S. F. Mason; 1834, A. Sinclair. W. J. Parks; 1838. A. Sin- 
clair; 1842. W. M. H. Newton; 1846, J. M. Hamilton; 1850. C. B. Mann; 1856, 
^V. D. Griffith; 1858. J. F. Hill; 1864. W. L. Cravens; 1866. E. N. Griffith; 1868, 
P. Hixon; 1872. R. S. Crampton; 1874. J. M. Armstrong; 1878. E. T. McConnell; 
1884. W. S. Jett; 1888. J. H. Powers; 1902, J. B. King; 1906, W. H. McPherson; 
1914, Ben Phillips; 1916, Edward Jacobs; 1118, D. B. Bartlett; 

TREASURER— 1836. M. Rose; 1838. A. Lewis; 1840. Wm. Adams; 1842, R. 
A. Latimer; 1844, A. Smith; 1846. L. Armstrong; 1848. W. S. Swigart; 1850, M. 
A. Hill; 1852, William Fritz; 1856, J. Conwav; 1858, W. M. Fritz; 1860, T. Baskins; 
1866. Wm. Hamlin; 1868. J. R. Laffrety; 1872, H. Jacobs; 1874, H. J. Clark; 1876, 
R. Houston; 1880, J. B. Wilson; 1884. (Failed to qualify); 1886. W. G. Taylor, 
1892. B. F. Griffin; 1896. Volney Howell; J, L. Farmer; 1910, Harlow Garrett; 
1914, Tom C. Jarnagin. 

CORONER — 1833. J. P. Kessie; 1835. R. S. McMiken; 1836, A. L. Black; 1838, 
A. Brown; 1840. B. G. Clark; 1842. D. Hargrove; 1844. Charles Denning; 
1846. Joseph Stewart; 1848. J. Arbrough; 1852. Lewis Mathews; 1854. James 
Carlisle; 1856; L. Mathews; 1858. James Ballard; 1860. P. Sanders; 1862, A. 

Southerland; 1864, W. Ried; 1866. J. C. Jones; 1868. J. Cheek; 1872 ; 

1874. Sam Flemming; 1876, J. B. Lee; 1882, F. R. McKennon; 1884 (Failed to 
qualify); 1886. J. T. Sykes; 1906, W. A. Cook; 1908, J. T. Sykes; 1918, V/m. 
Hardwick; 

SURVEYOR — 1836. Augustus Ward; 1836. W. A. Anderson; 1838, J. W. 
Rvan; 1840, John Ward, Sr. ; 1842, D. G. Harris; 1844, Alfred Allen; 1846, W. G. 
Dropper; 1843. V. Wallace; 1850, B. M. Davis; 1858, W. P. Clark; 1862, V. Wallace; 
1866, B. M. Davis, 1868, A. R. Young; 1874. S H. Thompson; 1878, G. R. Daniel; 
1880. Ezra Adkins; 1884. J. C. Bunch; 1886. J. M. Kelley; 1888. J. H. Haynie; 
1890. Wm. C. Boyles; 1891. A. J. Snelson; 1898, J. M. Haynie; 1902. Ezra Adkins; 
1908, R. G. Wilson; 1810, Ezra Adkins. 

ASSESSOR — 1864. J. F. Hill; 1866. ; 1868. C. M. Griffith; 1872, L. 

Robinson; 1874. J. R. Price; 1878. J. M. King; 1882, J. H. Huddleston; 1884. I. T. 
Patterson; 1886. Reuben Mathews; 1W8. J. W. Russell; 189u. J. M. Kelley; 
1892, J. N. Engram; 1894. T. U. Russell; 1904. Wilev Harris; 1908, G. L. Smith; 
1910, T. U. Russell; 1914. W. A . Meek; 1918. James R. Floyd; 7920. Roy Ragsdal. 

COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT — 1916. J. W. Sallis; 1921. R. C. Temple. 

JCJHNSON COUNTY MEN IN THE ARKANSAS SENATE— Samuel Adams, 
Moreau Rose. W. A. McLain. W. W. Floyd, A. M. Ward, J. E. Cravens. J. N. 
Sarber. J. T. Hill. G. T. Cazort. A. W. Covington. Lee Cazort. 

JOHNSON COUNTY MEN IN HOUSE — Wesley Garrett. E. B. Abston, S. 
Adams. A. E. Pace, M. Rose, Wm. Gray, Wm. McLain, J. B. Wilson. W. W. Floyd, 
John B. Brown. W. M. H. Newton. Samuel Farmer. Samuel Turner. John H. 
Strong, Olinver Basham, V. Wallace, H. G. Butts. J. G. Walton. H. G. Wilson. 
J. E. Cravens, Littleberry Robinson, L. B. Howell. W. H. Connelley. J. Rogers, 
A. P. Malson. John W. May. J. S. Green. D. R. Lee. W. N. Neay. J. L. Garner. 
T. A. Hanks. W. G. Harris. P. H. Spears. B. W. Herring. C. B. Toby. J. F- 
Hill. B. T. Embry. A. S. McKennon. M. Hixon, Lewis Fulton. F. R. McKennon, 
Isaac McCracken, T. P. King. J. W. Coffman. W. T. Hunt. John J. Quick. B. F. 
Wofford. W. H. Robbins. A. M. Ward. T. W. Kendall. H. H. Ragon. Lee Cazort, 
E. T. McConnell. Will Ketcheside. 

V.OUNTY FARM DEMONSTRATORS — (Established 191UK Pointer wauon, 
Phil Egan. D. L. Weldon. M. Sullivant. 

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTK^NS— Convention of 1836. Lorenza N. Clark; 
of 1861. P. I. Batson and W. W. Floyd; 1868. J. N. Sarber; 1874. Seth J. Howell 
and G. O. Patterson. This Constitution was rejected by the people. 

FOURTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT— Comprises Johnson. Franklin, 
Pope, Logan, Pulaski, Perry and Yell. 

FIFTH CIRCUIT JUDICIAL COURT— Johnson, Pope. Conway and Yell. 




InM 



emoriam 



BenniT, Josejih H., Corporal, Co. B. Eng-ineers. 

Bunch, Lee H., Co. A., 184 Machine Gun Battalion. 

Kdward.s, B. L. Co. M., S'J!) Infantry. 

Brown, Geo. L., Co. A., 148 Machine Gun Company. 

Pro.st, Abe O., Replacement Troop. 

Gilmore, O. C, Medical Detachment, 479 Aero Squadron. 

Ireland, Benj. M., Replacement Troops. 

Ca.sey, Dren B., Battery C, 5th French Motor Battalion. 

Jack.son, Elec, Co. G.. 18th Infantry. 

Metcalf. Erwin H., Replacement Troops. 

Nunley, Melvin J., Battery P., 13th Field Artillery. 

Sears, James C, Co. D., 11th Machine Gun Battalion. 

Stanfield, Marvin T., Co. C, 39th Infantry. 

Tipton, Chas. H., Co. D., 149th Infantry. 

Veneski, Stanley. Co. A. 9th Machine Gun Battalion. 

Shuh, John P., Field Remount Squadron Xo. 345, Q. M. C. 

Grover S. Wilson, 10th Co., C. A. C. 

Looper, Roy, Sergeant, Co. A., 141st Machine Gun Battalion. 

Dial. Ides, Co. K., 30th Infantry. 

Conway, Allen J., Replacement Troo])s 

Clark, Charlie M.. IGth Co., 162, D. B. 

Cunningham. John C. S., Battery C. 3Gth F. A. 

Dowdy. James A., Jr., Co. F., 11th Inf. Reg-. U. S. Marines. 

Dunla]). Harry, Co. C., unassigned. 

Rowbotham, Harold W., Co. L., 38th Infantry. 



LAND GRANTS 



139 



Samuel Adams of Johnson was acting Governor of Arkansas from Augnsi 
29th to Xovember 9, 1844. 

Samuel Adams. William Adams and Olinver Basham each were elected aoA 
served as Treasurer of the State of Arkansas. 

J. E. Cravens served three terms in the Congress of the United States 
from the third (now Fourth) district of Arkansas. 

J. E. Cravens, W. W. Floyd and Hugh Basham have each served as JudgE 
of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Arkansas. 

A. S. McKennon and H. H. Ragon have, two terms each, represented tbe 
Fifth Judicial Circuit as Prosecuting Attorneys. 

W. E. Atkinson is at the present date, the Chancery Judge of the Fiftfc 
Judicial District. He is a former Attorney General of Arkansas. 



A PARTIAL LIST OF PERSONS 
WHO TOOK OUT LAND GRANTS PRIOR TO 1850 



James Harvey Jones 
Thomas May 
Richard W. Adams 
Hugh E. Porter 
W. W. E. Moreland 
Samuel Adams 
David Porter 
Andrew L. Black 
Wm. Porter 
Alexandra Black 
Isaac Hughes 
W. W. Adams 
Cabel Zachery 
Colby Bennis 
James Rogers 
John R. Willis 
James P. King 
Filmore Williams 
Cabel B. Zachary 
Bartlett Zachary 
Archibald D. Hogins 
O. B. Hogins 
Isaac Wood 
H. H. Herring 
Pearson Jackson 
L. M. Wood 
-John B. Brown 
John Simpson 
Nathaniel Simpson 
Newton W. Brown 
A. T. Smitli 
W. J. Parks 
Shelton Wooster 
Clayton R. Clark 
Williamson Spears 
Jeremiah Moreland 
William Houston 
Samuel Turner 
Willis Collier 
Chas. Haynie 
John Marshall 
Thomas Madden 
David Slinkard 
L. M. Wood 



Wm. King 
Lewis Johnson 
W. M. Williams 
E. E. McConnell 
G. L. Patrick 
Thomas King 
E. G. Gilbreath 
W. M. H. Newton 
A. B. Joyner 
Joseph Adkins 
Samuel Towell 
Jesse May 
W. S. Swigart 
Sterling May 
J. E. Harris 
I'riah Russell 
Wm. Mears 
Rufus C. Sadler 
John C. Ward 
Uriah Thomp.son 
N. Cravens 
Wm. H. Polk 
John Howell 
John R. H. Scott 
Jacob Rogers 
James Ware, Jr. 
Finas Williams 
Joseph James 
James Patterson 
Andrew Houston 
James T. White 
A. M. Ward 
Moreau Rose 
Josiah Cravens 
Wm. Collier 
Joe Christman 
Andrew M. Fulton 
Thomas Powers 
J. W. Patrick 
Maj. Thompson 
John M. Wilson 
E. B. Alston 
Preston Jamison 
Littleberry Robinson 



James Keesie 
Philip Jones 
Wesley Garrett 
James K. Polk 
R. M. Lee 
Cader Lee 
Britton Lee 
Absalom Pryor 
William R. Hill 
L. W. Clark 
Abraham Laster 
Henry B. Hays 
Nathan Nesbitt 
John Arbrough 
Thomas Whittaker 
Thomas Laster 
Peter Allen 
Joseph King 
Twitty Pace 
James Hardgraves 
John Johnson 
^I. A. Kendal 
John Swaggerty 
John Armstrong 
T. I. Young 
James Logan 
W. A. Anderson 
Wm. Williams 
Jesse Brashear 
Wm. Mears 
lOdward Simpson 
Hiram A. Lindsey 
Jacob Robinson 
James Harvey Jones 
Richard W. Adams 
Casander Robinson 
B. H. Zachery 
S. D. Young- 
Jordan Thomijson 
Robert E. Johnson 
Nancy Seager 
Parsons Jackson 
Thadieus Moreland 
David Porter 



Part III. 

BIOGRAPHIES— IN PART 

E. B. Alston bridged Spadra Creek because his fourteen 
fauiidred acres of flat lands lay on the west of the stream. In 
1845, however he built a new home on the west side. His store, 
gin, et cetera, were also on the west and from that year old 
Spadra began to merge into the new. Mr. Alston, was doubtless 
the leading merchant of the county. He did a thriving business 
— had many slaves and was influential in all affairs concerning 
the welfare of the county. When the convention of 1836 met 
lo form the first Constitution of the State of Arkansas, Bettis 
Alston was a member. After Mr. and Mrs. Alston had lived 
for thirty-five years at Spadra, they went to Galveston, Texas, 
for a visit and while there became victims of yellow fever, from 
which Mr. Alston died. His body was shipped back to Spadra 
and lay in his warehouse on the river's bank until Mrs. Alston 
recovered and returned three months later. Mr. Alston died in 
1867.. Mrs. Alston died in 1877. Today in a field plowed and 
fcultiva ted, where hundreds of dead are buried, are two lone marble 
slabs, marked E. B. Alston and Hanna Alston. They lie under- 
neath a single tree, left from the beautiful forest which was until 
ten years ago uncut. 

The Jouets were also a prominent family of Spadra. Ex- 
Governor Drew lived there for a time after he retired from office. 
/ohn Rogers, the father of R. A. Rogers of Clarksville, Scott 
Rogers of Logan County and the late Wm. Rogers who continued 
for years to reside at Sjjadra, and the grandfather of Maj. Thomas 
Rogers of the World War, and who was the step-father of James 
Collier of Hartman and W. F. Collier of Clarksville, made his 
rtsidence at that river town in the fifties. 

There was also James M. Lewis, who had much land near- 
by, and who was the progenitor of Tom. J. and Henry Lewis, Mrs. 
Mattie Logan and Mrs. Kcssie Griffin. Geo. Koose had a horse- 
power gin and grist mill. Nick Koose a blacksmith shop, and 
A. Sinclare, who was a wood workman, had a shop. Dr. William 
C. Montgomery, a leading physician, and Mrs. Montgomery, w^ho 



BIOGRAPHIES 141 

was a Miss Maddox, resided for thirty years or more at Spadra, 
having immigrated there from Tennessee in 1854. Dr. and Mrs- 
Montgomery were the parents of two ehildren. Judge J. J. Mont- 
gomery, who has served as county judge several terms, and Mrs. 
Fred White, both of Clarksville. A. P. Clark resided at Spadra 
and reared his family there. He was the father of two of the 
county's most successful coal operators, N. R. and Tom Clark, 
Capt. A. D. King was a member of the King family of Spadra. 
The Careys were prominent in the business and social circles of 
the seventies and eighties. 

In 1873, Myers and son, and a man whose name was Vetter, 
came from Baltimore and brought with them some forty or fifty 
families. They operated the old Spadra Creek Mines east of the 
creek. Abe Stiewell, with his brother, Harry, as a Junior partner, 
sank a slope one mile west of the old mines. This place w^as for 
some years one of the big mines of the Southwest. Albert 
Shields managed a commissary for the Stiewell mines. 

Another concern of the seventies and eighties was the Kemp 
mines of which Albert Kemp was the original operator. These 
mines were nearer the river than the Stiewell i)roperty and they 
hoisted the coal by horse-power. 

On a hill by the side of the place where Cabin Creek empties 
into the river was the ephemeral little village of Pittsburg. Two 
mechanics who came from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, were the 
first campers on the spot — hence the appellation. But after 
they were gone leaving no mark save the name, some immigrants 
landed there whos:^ presence and strength began to be felt al 
once in the manipulation of the county's affairs. Nor has their in- 
fluence died, for their children and grand children are still \i\ay- 
ing parts worthwhile. Dr. E. E. McConnell and Seth J. HoweD 
were partners in a prosperous mercantile business there. They 
w^ere also interested in the Hunter, Hanger and Howell Stage 
Line, from Little Rock, Arkansas to Springfield, Missouri. Mr. 
Howell came from the state of Kentucky. He said that he drove 
the first Troy coach through Johnson county in 1837. Mr. 
Howell was a member of the assembly in 1836, who wrote the 
first Constitution of the State of Arkansas. Hon. Littleberry 
Robinson, another citizen of Pittsburg, was the father of Dr. C- 



142 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COL^TY 

E. Robinson of Little Rock, a former president of the First Na- 
tional Bank of Clarksville and for many years one of the lead- 
ing physicians of Johnson county. He was also the father of 
the late Mrs. Sallie Reed, who was a waiter of some repute. She 
was the mother of one of Arkansas' national representatives, Con- 
gressman C. C. Reed. Dr. Edward E. McConncll, a prominent citi- 
zen of Pittsburg, was a practicing physician during those years, 
■ft'hen to practice medicine over the hills and dells of this undulat- 
ed country was little less than the life of a missionary. He also sold 
airugs and sundries at his drug store. He and his wife, Susan, 
ft'ere at the same time rearing a family of boys and girls who were 
later to figure largely in affairs. They were the parents of Maj. 
Hall McConnell, one of Johnson County's soldier boys who did 
Bot come back when the Civil war was ended. His grave lies 
fan the top of the hill in Oakland cemetery. Capt. ^Yill H. Mc- 
Connell figured conspicuously for long years in county affairs 
3.nd lived to be an octogenarian. He said that he once killed 
a deer in the forest on the lot on Main street, where the Missouri 
Pacific Station now stands. Mrs. McConncll was Fannie 
Hyland. John, Rev. \Y. H. (Little Bill), Mrs. Yan Herring, Mrs. 
Decater Herring, Mrs. Lou Zeats and Hyland are their children. 
'Another son of the Doctor's was John McConncll, who was yet a 
young man when he met an untimely death in a railroad accident. 
He left Mrs. McConnell who was Annie Houston, and a daughter, 
A&ho is Mrs. Johnnie Simpson of Yan Burcn. 

Hon. E. T. McConnell is the only living member of this 
pioneer family. \Yhen merely a lad he joined the army and 
frent into active service of the Civil \Yar. On returning home 
lie followed his father in the drug business, but did not confine 
feimself to that alone. For twenty-five years he was almost con- 
tinuously in the newspaper business. He is a former sheriff of 
Uie county, and was superintendent of the State Penitentiary for 
several years. In 1918-19, he was a member of the Arkansas 
Legislature. He installed the first electric light plant in the 
county, and put up a tank and made. connections with his resi- 
dence and a few others, for the first, though limited, water and 
«e\ver system in Clarksville. He together with the late J. T. 
Arrington installed the first electric manipulated cotton gin in the 
370unty. He built the first opera house, which was located in the 



BIOGRAPHIES 143 

up stairs in the McConncll block. For fifty years he has owned 
the building in which has been the IcacHng hostelry of Clarksville, 
and which has always been located in this block. At present 
the Arlington Hotel is representative of this regime. Mrs. Mc- 
Connell was Alice Porter. Their children are Susie (Mrs. G. O. 
Patterson), Maude Mrs. F. S. Poynor), Iniogene (Mrs. Wm. 
Ragon) and Hall McConnell. 

The old Moreland home of the Pittsburg neighborhood is 
still standing, overlooking the river. Robert Moreland, who 
married Adelia Madden and after her death, Tennessee Hogan, 
both of Johnson county, was one of the arrivals of 1834. 

Ex-Governor Samuel Adams located up Cabin Creek three 
miles. He came from Halifax, Virginia, in 1835, and built a 
home, not of logs, but of lumber, and which is also standing 
today. Mr. Adams possessed a considerable amount of 
money and slaves. He homesteaded land and also bought up 
much more. He was the president of a Van Buren bank, which 
went defunct during the forties. Mr. Adams was elected from 
Johnson county to the Senate of Arkansas, where he was made 
president of that body. When Governor Yell announced for 
the United States Senate, Mr. Adams became the governor, and 
served the remaining several months of that term, but in the fall 
was elected State Treasurer, for which he was a candidate when he 
became the chief executive of Arkansas. A step-son in the 
home of Samuel Adams was James Fagan, who also during 
the Civil War received the distinguished brevet of Major Gen. 
James F. Fagan. John D. Adams, a son of Samuel, was a 
Civil War Major, and perhaps one of the best loved men in Ar- 
kansas. He once owned the Shoal Creek Plantation of tw^enty 
five hundred acres, which is now in Logan county. He was 
partner with a Mr. Dean in a line of steam boats, that ran the 
Arkansas and Mississippi rivers. One of these he gave the name 
of Kate Adams, complimentry to Mrs. Adams. 

The older McConnell boys, Johnathan King, James Fagan and 
John D. Adams were school mates at the little school house at 
Pleasant Grove. Johnathan King lived to be quite old. He was 
the son of Wm. and Nancy King, who came from Tennessee in 
1836. 



144 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

When Samuel Adams made his home three miles inland near 
a little stream, which is today historic, it seemed to possess no 
cognomen, or when he built many cabins for his negroes on its 
banks, it became the "Stream of Cabins," hence the appellation 
"Cabin Creek." 

Major General Thomas J. Churchill, later Governor of Ar- 
kansas, is said to have lived for a time, when a boy, in this neigh- 
borhood. 

Morrison's Bluff was another river town, for all the towns 
at that time were river towns. The names of Lorenza N. 
Clark, J. H. Strong, George Cunningham, C. Quinn, J. S. Hous- 
ton and others were familiar in this section. Back in territory 
days Lorenza N. Clarke and his wife, Arabella Bertrand Clarke^ 
immigrated to Johnson county. Mr. Clarke w^as a wealthy gentle- 
man from Baltimore, Maryland. He built a handsome brick resi- 
dence and lived with his slaves in the accredited style of the old 
aristocracy. His store was commodious too, and on the spot where 
old Morrison's Bluff was located almost a mile up stream from 
the present town, the old ruins of some of those buildings, now 
nothing more than foundations, have stood through the years. 
In those days, nine decades ago, the river washed around that 
bluff, now three miles away. And the old iron ring steepled in the 
rock, to which the boats were locked, is still there. The steam- 
boat. Elector, sank nearby and now lies buried back one 
mile south from the river bed. Mr. Clarke, being one of the 
three commissioners to locate the county seat, naturally w^as de- 
sirous to give Morrison's Bluff that honor, and only conceded 
his choice to Mr. Laster when the Laster choice was given the 
appellation of Clarksville. Mr. Clarke was a state senator, and 
was one of the delegates to form the state Constitution of 1836. 
In 1840-42, the firm of Cunningham & Clarke was a partnership. 
Hon. George Cunningham was the grandfather of Mrs. Lucy 
Adams Simpson, a former resident of Clarksville. Mrs. Simp- 
son was a daughter of Mrs. E. ^Y. Adams, who was Eliza Jane 
Cunningham. Dr. E. W. Adams was a resident of Clarksville in 
the late sixties and seventies. He fell dead at Low Gap Springs 
in the summer of 1879. Charley Adams of Little Rock is his son. 
Dr. Matthew Cunningham, in that period lived at Little Rock. His 
wife w^as Mrs. Eliza Wilson Bertrand Cunningham, who was the 



IMOGRAPHIES 145 

first woman residenl in llic capital city. She was Ihc mother of 
Mrs. Lorenzo Clarke. Mrs. Clarke's yonni^er sister, Matilda, be- 
came Mrs. Fredrick Hani-er of Little Rock. In the year LS i;'), Mr. 
Clarke's firm was chani^ed to Clarke c^ Slroni^-, his partner be- 
ing John H. Strong. In the year IcSl,") Mi". Clarke visited 
in BaltJJiiore, and while there was taken ill and did not recover. 
Mrs. Clarke bronght his body back to Morrison's VAuW for burial. 
After Mr. Clarke's death his widow was married to ,lohn H. 
Strong, and then the style of the bnsinrss was "John H. Strong". 
In 1848 Mr. Strong also died. His friends held him in high 
esteem, judging from a lengthy account given in the minutes of 
the old Secretary book of Franklin Lodge No. 9. Mrs. Arabelle 
Bertrand Clark Strong was married the third time. Her last hus- 
band was Joseph Newton, an uncle of Gen. R. C. and Maj. T. W. 
Newton. Sometime in the early fifties Mrs. Clarke Strong 
New'ton died and was buried in the Mt. Holly cemetery at Little 
Rock. 

J. S. Houston c't Co. was the name of another Morrison's 
Bluff firm of the forties. The old town that was, is entirely 
obliterated. The stream that laved against its banks, year 
after year, threw the soil inland and each rise in the river pilled 
it higher, and soon boats could not anchor there. A landing 
was made below and then a warehouse was built, and some one 
put up a little store, and in that way the new rei)laced the old. 
On the scarp of that bluff are chisled names and dates covering 
the century past. 

Lorenza N. Clarke left no heirs save his wife and when she 
went away the beautiful home was abandoned. An abode, once 
tlie pride of a "Master and Missus", where liveried servants bided 
every wash, and where belles and beaus from down [he stream 
came to parties, held in peerage style. Soon the tangled vines 
and bats and owls had found the place, and then the vandals 
came. It is said that many chimneys in the country there about 
were taken from the walls of that old ruins, and even someone 
unhung the doors and moved them away. Many of those 
brick w^ere taken as far as Clarksville for foundations, et cetra. 
A colony of Germans have purchased much of the farm lands 
about Morrison's Bluff and German merchants sell goods there. 
A beautiful little Catholic church and school house are resplendent 



146 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

of the religious and moral bent of the populace. A prosperous 
habitation mingles in and out. But few of the residents there 
know that underneath a vault of solid stone only a few rods away 
is the place where a form was laid most eighty years ago. That 
vault is after the fashion much used in those days. The casket 
was said to have been lowered into a bed of cemented stone with 
a covering of solid glass, cemented too, then the four well pro- 
portioned walls were securely capped by a heavy portable slab. 
This vault is intact today, although no care has been given it for 
more than half a century. Lorenza N. Clarke, a man who radiated 
progress in his solvent array of business, who managed affairs of 
state with wonderful executive ability, and who entertained his 
friends after tlie fashion of a king, lies there unknown today. 

But the ways of the world are ever the same. Man lives but 
a day as he flits across the screen, and is gone, then another takes 
his place and soon he too, is gone, and each in turn are forgotten 
for someone else, — passing too — stands in his stead. 

Hucy Logan and \Vm. Logan were brothers who left Ken- 
tucky early in the twenties of the past century. They took out land 
near Morrison Bluff. Huey was the father of Conduct Logan, and 
Conduct was the father of Green G. Logan and Green was the 
father of Bettis Logan and Mrs. Lera Anderson of Clarksville. 
Col. James Logan located south of the river in 1830. He took 
out land on Sugar Creek south of Petit Jean River. There A\as 
also a David Logan. Steve Logan is a descendent of this same 
family. When Logan County was formed in 1875 it received 
the appellation, Logan, from this prominent family, who was 
then in the territory that belonged to Johnson. 

The Hardwick family was said to be the wealthiest on the 
south of the river. Col. D. Hardwick had scores of negroes and 
his lands lay stretching away up and down the river. Wm. 
Hardwick of Clarksville is a grandson of the Colonel. 

The Ware families were also extensive land owners, some 
of which is held by successors still. Mrs. Charley Hays of 
Scranton is a descendent. The Cotton families were also prom- 
inent in that country. The Chitwoods too, were in the neigh- 
boorhood along the stream. 

There was Nchemiah Cravens, the father of the honorable 
Jordan E. Cravens. 



BKKIRAFHIKS 147 

William Hill, (lie falluT of Ihc dislin.niiislu'd Ca))tnin 
John C. Hill. 

In the yrars jiisl before the Civil War, aboiil IH.IH, Clevc 
Ragon from Tcnmssec came to Mori'lson's Hliiff. He was the 
father of Mrs. W. .1. Hasham and olhei- children. The Rai>()n 
families of Si)adra and (leo. Rai^on of Clarksville are descendants 
of this family. 

Just followini* the close of hostilities, Captain Jack Raf:fon. 
a brother of Cleve Rai^on, also came. Hi' purchased a farm 
on Cane Creek two miles from the little villai^e of Dublin. 
Mrs. Rai>on was, before her marriai^e, Ann Heartsill 
from the state of (leorgia. Captain Jack Ragon was a Con- 
federate soldier in his native state. He only survived a few 
years after locatini* in Arkansas. Mrs. Ragon was born in 
Tennessee and is the daui^hter of Hiram and Ann Wright 
Heartsill. Her maternal grandfather was Dr. Isaac Wright of 
Mount Pisgah, Tenn. At Captain Ragon's death there were 
five small children in the home. Mrs. Ragon was a wise and 
careful mother and today she lives in her declining years to see 
all of her boys men of affairs, all of whom live in Clarksville. 
Edgar, the oldest, has always been a farmer, Jess is the general 
manager of the Clarksville Mercantile Company, Ab is th? presi- 
dent of the First National Bank of Clarksville. Hon. Heartsill 
Ragon is an attorney of wide repute, having served in the State 
Legislature in 1910-14 and was speaker of the House his last 
term. He has also been Prosecuting Attorney of the Fifth 
District for two terms, and is an efficient, ready and willing 
speaker. He stood first in the graduating class of the Wash- 
ington and Lee University at Lexington, Va. in 1909. WilUam 
Ragon, the youngest son, is the Clarksville Post Master. 

hi 1871 Dr. W. A. Heartsill, a brother of Mrs. Ann Ragon. 
came froni Georgia to Morrison's Bluff. He was for twenty- 
five years one of the leading physicians of Logan county. He 
is now residing in Texas. 

Up the river from Morrison's Bluff there was another stoj) 
for the boats. This place was called Patterson's Bluff. James 
M. Patterson had built a home of some i)roportions, with a 
cellar and cistern and all the conveniences of that day. He was 
also in business, with a partnership, styled "Patterson & 
AVhitaker. Mr. Patterson's farm, or the most of it, lay in the 



148 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

river holtoin across the river from liis home on the bhiff. Horse- 
licad Creek empties into the river on this plantation. James 
M. Patterson was the ^grandfather of Hon. G. O. Patterson, a 
leading attorney of Northwest Arkansas. He resides in Clarks- 
ville. ^ 

In this neighborhood north of the river was Gilbert Hol- 
land and his wife, Mary Ann. They came to Johnson Comity 
from Georgia, in 1843. H. H. Holland, who was a member of 
Capt. Howell's Artillery company nnder Gen. Cooper in the Civil 
War, and who died recently, was their son. 

The plantations of the Perry brothers was along the river too. 
Josiah Perry was the paternal grandfather of Justice Yolney 
Howell. 

Still farther up Horsehead Creek in the Harmony settlement 
were the families whose names were King, Raskin, Laster, 
Rlackburn, Edwards, Reynolds, Coffee, Reed, Ogilvic, Frost, 
Wilson, Allen, Jacobs, Martin, Porter and Flemmings. These 
families are represented by so many branches of the name 
and scores of descendants that their individual biographies are 
difficult to properly delineate. 

The Kings of the Harmony settlement are represented today 
])y farmers, bankers, college instructors and ministers. In 
Clarksville there are two brothers, Ernest King, Cashier of the 
Farmers National Rank, and Prof. Gorman R. King of The College 
of the Ozarks. 

J. K. Raskin was a son of J. M. and Malissa Laster Raskin, 
M'ho came to Arkansas in 1839. 14ie I)askin men arc represen- 
tative as lawyers, business men and farmers. Ex-Judge Ghas. 
H. Raskin is a prominent bearer of the name. There is no im- 
mediate information at hand concerning them, but the Raskin 
men and women have always taken a prominent place in the 
communities in which they reside. 

In the year 1831, which was at least twelve months before 
ll)e Cherokees left this country, Abraham Laster and his wife, 
Nancy Pucket Laster, moved from Tennessee to the Horsehead 
neighborhood of Johnson County. Mr. Laster was a North 
Carolinan by birth. In 1837 his brother, J. H. Laster, and fath- 
er and mother, Fredrick and Nancy Smith Laster, came on io 
Johnson from Lawrence County where they had located in 
thirtv-one. Each of these gentlemen took out land. Fredrick 



BIOGRAI^HIKS 119 

was a Velcran ol" llu- war of hSl'J. .1. 11. Lasltr niarrird Miss 
Sarah A. Patrick, a daui^hler of .lohii W. and Susan Lee Patrick, 
in SeptcnilK^r, 1841. They were llu- parents of eleven children. 
Among them were three sons, Ahe, Seth and Scldon, who later 
became men of affairs. 

The children of Mr and Mrs. Abraliam Laster were James 
M., Malvin, Hester Ann, Mary, Thomas, Francis, AVasliington, 
Jane and Robert. 

In 1859 J. M. Laster married Sarah Sarles. Their children 
were Elizabeth, Ann, Robert, Frank, Thomas, Lou, xVugusta, 
Fanny, Carl and Conley. The i)resent Mrs. Laster was Mrs. 
Louisa Turney. Their children are Abraham, Eva, Rirdie and 
Audlic. J. M. Laster recently celebrated his eiglity-first birthday. 
He resides on his father's old homestead. Mr. Laster has an ex- 
cellent memory and has contributed much information for this 
volume. He holds and cherishes a number of interesting keep- 
sakes of the long ago. 

Phillip May was an early settler on Horsehead, also. He 
owned slaves and was active in his community. He died in the 
early seventies. 

Lorenzo Swagerty was the father of the Lorenzo who mar- 
ried Miss Emma May, a daughter of Capt. Thomas May of the 
old Pittsburg Settlement. 

The Hardgraves were represented in Clarksville for long 
years by Cager, who lived to be quite old. He was the father 
of Mrs. J. A. Dowdy of Clarksville and Mrs. W. A. May of St. 
Louis and a son, whose home is in Argentine, South America. 
Dr. Hardgraves of Horsehead is also an active descendant of 
another branch of the family. 

Thomas Kendall, a courtly gentleman of Smeadley, has been 
Johnson County's Representative in the State Legislature on 
more than one occasion. 

Capt. Armstrong, of the Civil War, was a i)rominent member 
of that family. Lee Armstrong, a business man and farmer at 
this time resides at the Armstrong home on Horsehead. 

Judge W. W. Floyd caniL' to Clarksville in 1841 to jiractice 
law. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and was the son of 
Reader S. Floyd, Virginian by birth. He was a descendant of 
John Floyd, a former governor of Virginia, and whose son, John 
B, Floyd, was Secretarv of War under President Buchanan. 



150 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COL^TY 

A brother of John Floyd, who resided in New York and who 
came to America in 1760 with him, was WilHam Floyd, a signer 
of the Declaration of Independence. Two of the sons of William 
served in the United States Congress from New Y^ork early in 
the past centiiiy. In the family of Reader S. Floyd was Judge 
AVilliam W., Richard and Edward. The home of all the Floyds, 
except the Judge, was on Horsehead. A son of Richard Floyd is 
James Floyd, who is a former Tax Assessor of the county. Mary 
Floyd, a daughter of Richard, married Eb Rhea, whose father 
was a wealthy pioneer of Handcock County, Tennessee, and 
who lived to be more than a century old. William W. Floyd of 
Clarksville was elected Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit and 
served four years. He had many other honors, not given here, 
conferred upon him. He was twice appointed by the Secretary 
of War as one of the examiners of West Point Military Acad- 
emy, first by Hon. Jeff Davis, under President Price, and again 
by his kinsman, John R. Floyd. Mrs. W. M. Kavanaugh of 
Ijttle Rock is a daughter of Judge Floyd, and W. E. Floyd, for- 
mer post-master of Little Rock, and the present chairman of the 
Arkansas Railroad Commission, is a son. 

The oldest settlers of the Wilsons, so far as is known, were 
James R. and his wife, Peggy, who came from Virginia. They 
were a high-toned, refined couple. Major Hugh Wilson was a 
descendant of a generation later. He served his country both 
in the Mexican and Civil Wars. The late Wm. Wilson, whose 
family still resides in Clarksville, was a grandson of James R. 

L. A. and Nancy Laster Martin were Tennesseeans by birth. 
They came to Arkansas in 1873. John L. Martin was thoir son. 
He married Miss Parmelia Royer. The late Abe Martin of 
Lone Pine was one of that family. Frank Martin is a descendant 
also. 

James C. and Harriett Hester McDaniel came from North 
Carolina to the Horsehead settlement of Johnson county in 1852. 
They had eight children in their home. John, William, Martha, 
Eliza, James, Harriet, Mary and Nancy. W. C. and Ernest have 
been residents of Clarksville for many years. They are the sons 
of William McDaniel. 

The Flemming's coal mine was located in the fifties in the 
Harmony neighborhood. The Flemmings were prominent 
])ioneers. 



BIOGRAPHIES 151 

Melvin Coft'oe canu* to Johnson coiinly when a younif man, 
from his birth place in Jackson county, Ahibama. In 1843 he 
was married to Jane Laster of tlie upper Horsehead neighbor- 
hood. Their children were James (1. and Melvina. Melvin 
Ck)ffec was a soldier in the Mexican War, and died while in the 
service. 

James G. Coffee, who is today an affable and active gentle- 
man of the old school, was a confederate soldier. He enlisted 
in 1861, even though just a boy. He was an orderly sergeant. In 
1867 he married Miss Clementine Harkreader, a daughter of 
Samuel and Nancy Harkreader. Their children were Edna and 
Lester. Mrs. Coffee died in 1882. Mr. Coffee was married a 
second time, to Miss Sallie Powell, a daughter of Rev. John A. 
Powell. Their four children were Harland, Dessie, Effie and 
Irma. Mr. Coffee is a Mason. 

Harland Coffee is a successful Insurance dealer of Clarks- 
ville. 

J. W. Ogilvie and W. S. Ogilvic were two brothers who left 
Tennessee sometime during the forties. They were descendants 
of (xeorge Ogilvie, who immigrated from Scotland. Mesdames 
Fannie Poynor, Jennie Wilson and Gulie Poynor were daughters 
of Wi'l Smith Ogilvie. James W. Ogilvie was the father of Dr. 
J. W., C. F. and Henry. 

John and William Reed were early settlers in the Lone 
Pine neighborhood. Seth Reed, Mesdames James McCoy and 
Ella Humphrey are three of the children of John. Seth is, and 
has been for many years, the manager of the Fraternal Aid Union 
of Arkansas. 

A number of Allen families have, as the years have gone by, 
moved to Johnson County, but the first were, perhaps, Lewis 
Allen and his wife, Lucy (Felts) Allen, who came in 1833. 

After the Civil War Thomas Allen came froni Kentucky and 
settled at Harmony. He reared a large family, of which Joe 
Allen is one of the sons and Mrs. T. D. Molloy and Mrs. J. W. 
Lewis are daughters. 

Dixon Reynolds laid legal claim to land in Johnson county in 
1836, soon after his arrival from Tennessee. His son, William, 
married Miss Elizabeth Raskin, who was also a native of Arkan- 
sas. Their eldest son, Thomas H., married Miss Wood, and they 
were the parents of twelve children. Another son, William 



152 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Reynolds of Clarksvillo, and Mari^aret Poteet Reynolds, who re- 
cently died, were the parents of Sewell and Jess Reynolds, both 
attorneys-at-la\v. The former of Oklahoma and the latter, 
Clarksvllle. They are both read}' speakers. The former has 
been, within the past few years, connected with the Tax Commis- 
sion of Arkansas. 

Thomas Porter was the pioneer father of J. R., W. F., and 
E. L. Porter. John R. was the father of John and Jim Porter. 

John is an expert cotton buyer, having been in the employ- 
ment as manager of an establishment of cotton merchants in 
Memphis and later in Chicago. He is now located in Ft. Smtih. 

W. F. Ijccame Judge Porter when elected as the County and 
Probate Judge of Johnson County thirty years ago. He was a 
splendid gentleman and an efficient judge. His daughter, Una, 
became Mrs. James W. Ogilvie and his son William, is a leading 
physician of Ozark. 

The family of E. L. Porter, after his death at Harmony, 
moved to Clarksville. Mrs. Porter, nee Alice Harris, was a 
daughter of Xeal E. Harris. Her children are Arthur, Ed, Will, 
Jake and Maude, (Mrs. T. W. Hervey). 

Rack in 1859 a line of immigrants one hundred wagons long, 
wound its way westward with Ej^hrim Rlackburn and his wife, 
Lonvina Carjjenter Rlackburn, in the lead. They were riding in 
a handsome buggy, on which Mr. Rlackburn had spent much 
energy aud time — for he made it, by hand, back in old North 
Carolina. 

There were three Rlackburn brothers in the procession, but 
when the Mississi])pi river was crossed, this train of travelers 
divided into three sections. Only a fair division of the original 
line came up the Arkansas river road. Rut Ephrim came, and 
at least one of the immigrants with him was John H. Robinson, 
who was a resident of Clarksville until his death, years after. 

Mr. Rlackbuiii i)urchased land and settled down to the busi- 
ness of home-making. His children were seven: Ren W., Sam 
v., John, Pink and Sid, also Mrs. J. M. King and Mrs. Harriett 
Landthri]). 

R. N. Rlackburn died recently, at the age of seventy-four. 
Hi.- children are Mrs. R. A. Morgan, Mrs. Mack Williams, Mrs. F. 
Ogden, Vernon, Walter, Finis and Dillon. 



I^IOGRAPHIKS 153 

John (Doc) was the lather of Liilhtr, Orvillc, Ada (Mrs 
.lack Lewis), Ahee (Mrs. John Warren) and several other 
(hildren. 

A. \. Blaekhnrn is the son of Sam \'. Hlaekhurii. 

Richard C. Hnnt and family moved from Madison ('ounly 
to Johnson Connty, Arkansas in 1861. Mr. Hunt had ])revionsIy 
immii^rated to the first mentioned connty from (i;'ori*ia. He 
look residence at Lone Pine, hnt later moved to Horsehead. 

Richard C. Hnnt was the father of John D. Hnnt. 

John D. Hnnt was the father of Dr. Wm. R. Hnnt, today an 
eminent physician and snrgeon of Clarksville. He was also the 
father of Mrs. Steve Lo^an Dave Hnnt and other children. 

Dr. W. R. Hnnt is lh(> father of Dr. Earle H. Hnnt, a i>radn- 
ate of Tnlane University and a widely known practitioner, well 
versed in the science of medicine and snrgery. He is also the 
father of Dr. W. R. Hnnt, Jr., who recently hei>an the ])racticc 
of the profession of trentistry, and Dr. \V. R. Jr., is the father of 
a small son, Wm. R. Hunt III. There is also an Earle Jr. 
Dr. W. R. Hunt, Sr., is the father of Lillian (Mrs. E. A. Kin^). 

Mrs. John D. Hunt was a Miss (Ji-iden, and Mrs. Wm. R. 
Hunt, Sr., Ruth Houston. 

The Oi^den family came with the Hunt family in 19(SL from 
Madison comity. They purchased lands at Lone Pine and that 
locality is today the home of the Oi>"dens. The bearers of this 
name have always represented the county's best citizenship. In 
the i)resent generation among the many descendants are J. D., 
Abe, and R. C. 

There was one John Philli])s who came to Johnson county 
in 18G2. At one time there were three men in the county who 
bore the cognomen of John Phillij)s. But this John Phillips 
of the sixties was the father of Ex-Sheriff Ren Phillips, also of 
Wm. Phillips, Esq. of Springhill. 

In the Hays' Chapel neighborhood is the old Henry R. Hays 
homestead. Mr. Hays was known to the generation past, 
as a fine old gentleman. He came from the state of South 
Carolina. He was in Arkansas during the overflow of the 
river in 1833. He lost everything he ow'ned that could float 
away, except his wife and baby. Mr. Hays was a generous man, 
always ready to lend a helping hand. 



154 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The Hays children who are living are Dr. Annie Hays, 
Charley Hays and William Hays. 

Mrs. Charlotte Susan Howard was for long years a resident 
of the Spadra vicinity, with a family, of which Thomas and State 
Howard were sons. Mary Howard was a daughter and was the 
wife of M. E. Anderson, Clarksville's leading photographer, 
Charlotte Anderson is their daughter. 

There was another Howard family, of which there were 
several daughters, among them Mesdames Jesse Williams and 
Will Johnson. 

The Harkreader brothers were prominent citizens. 

Dr. O. D. Tankersley was a young physician in Johnson 
county prior to the sixties and served as a member of the Medical 
Department in the Confederate Army. His home was on Horse- 
head Creek, He moved to Clarksvillc in 1890. His children 
were Toney, Mollj, Susan, Newtie, John and Alice. 

Mrs. Tankersley was formerly Susan Harrison. 

A geneology of Susan Harrison Tankersley, traced by Joe W. 
Coffman Jr., supplementing one, by Glen McColloch of three 
families, in which the Harrisons were included, is the most com- 
plete lineage in this volume. It is as follows, copied verbatim:— 

From 1066 to 1911. 

1. Robert de Breus, a Norman Knight who accompanied 
\Vm. the Conquerer. 

2. Adam de Breus, son of the above, 

3. Robert de Brus, of X^leveland, first Lord of Annandale. 

4. Robert de Bruse, second Lord of Annandale. 

5. William de Bruce, son of the above. 

6. Robert de Bruce, fourth Lord of Annandale. 

7. Robert de Bruce, fifth Lord of Aimandale. 

8. Robert I (Bruce), King of Scotland, 

9. Marjory Bruce, daughter of Robert Bruce. 

10. Robert II of Scotland, founder of the Stuart line of Kings. 

11. Robert III, King of Scotland. 

12. James 1, King of Scotland. 

13. James II, King of Scotland. 

14. James III, King of Scotland. 

15. James IV, King of Scotland. 

16. John Stewart, younger son of James IV. 

17. Henry Stewart, son of the above. 



BIOGRAPHIES 155 

18. Elizabeth Stewart, daiii^liter of Henn' Stewart ami 
mother of Oliver ("^romwell. 

19. Oliver Cromwell, Protector of the Commonwealth. 

20. Henry Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell. 

21. Elizabeth Cromwell, daiiJ^hter of the above. 

22. Catherine Allen, daughter of Elizabeth Cromwell. 

23. Lorcas Towson, daughter of Catherine Allen. 

24. Prudence Sater, daughter of Lorcas Towson. 

25. Rebecca Howard, daughter of Prudence Sater. 

26. Rebecca Mira Dyer, daughter of Rebecca Howard. 

27. Sarah Ellen Harrison, daughter of Rebecca Mira Dyer. 

28. Susan Tankersley, daughter of Sarah Ellen Harrison. 

29. Joe Coffman, Susie Coffman, Harrison Coffman, Cather- 
ine Coffman, children of Susan Tankersley. 

Nearer the site of Clarksville, around Little Spadra, were 
the homesteads of those whose names were Garrett, Harris, Royd, 
Lenions, Crowley, Denning, Dorcey and Walton. 

No name in the county is more widely known than that of 
Garrett. Each generation has produced a goodly mnnber of 
sons. Thej^ are citizens of influence. Wesley Garrett, 
the pioneer of 1828 a North Carolinan by birth, was a coroner 
of Pope county in territorial days, when the Indians were 
still here, and was in the legislature of 1833, and gave the county 
its name. 

William C. Garrett, a son of Wesley, married Martha 
Lemons, a native of Arkansas. She was the daughter of Samuel 
Lemons. Mr. Garrett who resided on his father's homestead, died 
in 1887, leiiving eleven children. W' sley, of Oklahoma; F. G., 
Harlow and Mrs. C. Davis of Clarksville, also Alec and Seth were 
of liiat number. Ethel and Dessie are daughters of Alec; Earl, 
the son of Seth. Wesley. Swagerty, Ora, Mary, Elmer and Maude 
were children of Wesh y Jr., who married Pvmenia Swagrty, a 
daughter of Lorenza Swagerty, and daughter of Mrs. Polly 
Swagerty Ward. 

F. G. (jLarrett married Miss Martha Mann, a sister of the late 
John Mann. Their children are: Mrs. Carl Laster of California, 
Elbert of Russellville, Edgar, Roy, Joel, Eugene, Felix G., Lucy, 
Bessie and Pauline of Clarksville. 

Harlow Garrett married Anna Williams, a daughter of John 
Williams. 



(5G HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

There are many more Garretts whose names are not at 
iiiaiul. Tile Garretts are farmers, poHtieians and business men. 

On the banks of Little Spadra, west of Clarksville, lived Capt. 
John C. Harris, whose family i*enealogy descends from Virginia, 
of the branch known as the West Harris line. Thomas Harris 
of the Isle of Wight County, Virginia, died in 1688. His son, 
Ed\\'ard Harris, was the father of West Harris. The latter two 
moved to North Carolina and died near Saidsbury. Allen Harris 
was the grandson of Edward and the son of West. John C. 
Harris was llie son of Allen and was born in North Carolina near 
S.Tulsbury. His mother was Linnie Wood, who was the daughter 
of John Wood. John Wood was a grandson of Col. West Harris, 
a field officer in the Continental Army. (See Wheeler's History 
of N. C. Vol. 2). With his mother, who was a widow, he went to 
Alabama, and later Tennessee. Leaving his mother there, he 
went on to Texas. He came to Arkansas in 1832, but did not 
Hiove to this state until 1834, at which time he went to Tennessee 
and returned willi his uncle, Blont Ward, and his mother and 
family. 

James Harris, a brother of John C, went to Texas from 
Arkansas in 1842. Mr. Harris operated a Tannery on little 
Spadra for long years, beginning back in territory days and ex- 
tending into the sixties. It was burned, together with other 
buildings, in 1863. An old shed, however, and other evidences of 
A once tan yard, stood on the old spot even into the eighties. Mr. 
Harris went lo California in 1849, and came back two years later 
w^tli much money. He purchased Confederate Bonds and land 
warrants, called Arkansas War Bonds, to the amount of 5^50,000. 
This was, however, a complete loss, with the exception of a small 
amount of interest on the land warrants. Mr. Harris was com- 
pelled to leave home during the struggle, joining a cavalry. He 
was fifty years of age. 

Captain Harris was twice married, the first time to Susan 
Hargraves, a daughter of Louis Hargraves. Wallace Harris was a 
son of this marriage. In 1853 Capt. Harris was married again, 
4his time to Malinda Popham, a lineal descendant of Sir John 
Popliam, of Colonial days. Among their nine children were 
€. Harris, W. S. Harris, Mrs. Wm. Pegg, Mrs. A. G. Wolfe, Mrs. 
J. M. Hays, Mrs, W. H. Logan and Mrs, Z. A. Woods, whose home 
is in Ft, Smith, Arkansas. 



HIOGRAPHIES 157 

There are a iuiinl)er ol" C.rowleys in the eoiinly. The h\\v J. 
B. Crowley, was perhaps Ihe best known one in (lie business 
world. His father, Wni. Crowley, and his other brotliers are 
well known. Mrs. Nat Clark is the daui^hter of Joe Crowley, 
who is now rpiite old. 

Loftis Walton, of whom Lark Walton, who is residint* on the 
old farm today, was the oldest son, eame from North Carolina in 
a scliooner wagon in 1(S49, bringini^- with him his family and 
slaves. There are other brothers, Robert and Pointer. 

On Spadra to the west, were the Pryors, Kings, Lees, Bash- 
ams, Patricks, Wards, James Cravens, Moreau Rose, Thomas 
Powers and.Labon Howell. 

There were two Pryor brothers who came from Tennessee to 
Arkansas in 1834. Ellis Pryor, ^^'ho has been a long termed con- 
stable, and Dr. R. L. Pryor are present day re])resentatives of 
those old veterans who lie buried in the Lee gra\'eyard. They are 
the sons of N. C. Pryor. Dr. R. L. Pryor is a Veterinary sur- 
geon, one of the best in tlie state. He is the dean of veterinary 
surgery of northwest Arkansas, and deputy surgeon of Arkansas. 

The lineal biography of the King families of Jolmson County 
is hard to trace. There are perhaps more i)ersons l)earing Ihc 
name of King than any other in the county. There was 
Johnathan King, Alfred King, Reuben King, Thomas King, James 
King and Josei)h King, all pioneers. J. L. King and Mrs. A. F, 
Ward of Clarksville are representatives of one branch of the 
King family, while Lee King is of another branch. 

There were several brothers of the Lee family. The present 
rcpresentive on the old Cader Lee homestead is his grandson, 
Buck Lee. Mrs. R. O. Brinks was also a Lee. 

In matter of location, immediately south of the village of old 
Chief John Jolly on Spadra creek, was a track of land on wliich 
lived a gentleman, John W. Patrick, who was one of the first 
pioneers, having located there as early as 1<S2<S. The Indians were 
his neighbors and the fox, the wolf and tlu' wild cat his pri^y. 
Mr. Patrick was by birth a South Carolinian. He was the son 
of George Lewis Patrick and the grandson of Henry Patrick, from 
Strasburg on the Rhine. Mr. Patrick's mother was Hanna Lee, 
the daughter of Andrew Lee, from Virginia. John W. Lee was 
a brother of Hanna. Mr. Patrick was a man of intelligence and 
his children and urandcliildren have made some of the best of 



158 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

the county's citizens. His only son, who hore his grandfather's 
name, John Lewis Patrick, was left ill in an army camp by a 
comrade during the Civil War and was never heard from again. 
His duaghters were Mrs. Olinver Basham, Mrs. J. H. Laster and 
Mrs. Thomas King. 

Colonel George \Vashington Patrick, who was a brother of 
John Patrick and was also possessed with a pioneering spirit, as 
was their father before them, went into the territory of Ala- 
bama, among the Indians in 1817, came on to Arkansas in 
1843 from Alabama. In this latter state he was Captain of a 
volunteer company, mustered into the United States service to 
operate against the hostile Creek Indians in south Alabama. And 
when the Mexican War opened in 1840, he volunteered and was 
elected captain of one of the Johnson County companies that 
operated undL'r Colonel Archibald Yell's mounted regiment of 
Arkansas. 

Colonel Patrick was represented to have been a distinguished 
soldier, standing erect and dignified, six feet and two inches. He 
was also a lawyer, and followed that profession. He moved 
from California to Mississippi in 1864, and from there to Dallas, 
Texas, in 1874. Col. Patrick was twice married and was the 
father of nine children. 

C. B. Mann was born in Virginia, and went from there to 
Tennessee, before moving to Arkansas Territory. Mrs. Mann was 
Bettio Collins, who was a daughter of William Collins of the 
Mulberry Creek settlement. John B. Mann, deceased, and Mrs. 
F. G. Garrett of Clarksville were two of his children. C. B. 
Mann was sheriff of Johnson County. He died while in office. 
John B. was a Confederate soldier in Company "K", Col. Hill's 
regiment. 

14ie Ward family has figured prominently in Johnson County 
since 1824. This family was represented first by David Ward* 
and a few years later John Ward came. They were Virginians 
by birth. 44ieir mother was a sister of Capt. Rees Bowen, a 
Revolutionary soldier, and a sister of Henry Bowen of Tazwell 
County, Virginia. David purchased a claim from an Indian 
named Key, a mile south of the town of Clarksville. Mrs. David 
AVard was Kllen Cravens of Virginia, and David was their son. 
After Mrs. Ward died, Mr. Ward married a Mrs. White. Jane 
was their daughter. There were other Ward children, but those 



BIOGRAPHIES 159 

mentioned have contributed of their Hves to this county. David, 
the son of David, was the husband of Mrs. Polly Swai^erty Ward, 
and the father of A. F. Ward and Mrs. Hffie Dunlaj) (Mrs. R. D.) 
of Clarksville. Jane Ward became Mrs. James Yearwood. and 
her chiklren are Walter, Robert, Lucy (Mrs. Charley Walton) 
and Ethel (Mrs. E. Griffin). Mrs. Yearwood later became Mrs. 
James Wetherton. Mr. and Mrs. Wetherton were the parents of 
one daui^hter, Ella (Mrs. Robert Cox). Major John Ward came 
in 1834 and first resided on Horsehead Creek and later in Clarks- 
ville. His sons and daughters were Rees, Rufus, Henry, David, 
Aui^ustus M., John, Rebecca Sally, Lilly and Nancy. David was 
the father of Bhnd Rob Ward. Lilly marrietl \\'m. Hill and 
was the mother of John C. Hill, who was the father of Mrs. Lil 
Hill Roogher of New York City. 

Nancy married a man whose name of Hardi^raves, and after 
he died she married Dr. Watson. 

Rebecca Sally married and moved to Texas. John Ward 
of Yell County, Ark., is a i>reat i^randson of Major Ward, the 
pioneer. Augustus M. Ward was one of Clarksville's real leaders 
in its embryo. There is perhaps few records left from the first 
thirty years of the existence of the town, that does not bear his 
signature. He helped to |)lot the town, organize the Masonic 
Lodge, the Presbyterian church, Sunday Schools over the county 
and, also served for fourteen years as County Clerk. He took 
into his home, perhaps more orphan and afflicted children than 
any other man in the coimty. The two daughters of Wm. 
Collins, Polly and Martha, lived in his home after the death of 
their father. Polly Collins became Mrs. Lorenza Swagerty in 
1845, and many years later, Mrs. David Ward. She is living 
today with her daughter, Mrs. R. D. Dunlap, Sr. 

Martha Collins was later Mrs. Augustus Ward, and was the 
mother of A. M. Ward of Little Rock. A. M. Ward is the only 
living member of the Augustus Ward family. 

Two sisters, Emily and Virginia Cox, were sent from 
Tennessee to Mr. Ward, as children of a deserving Mason. 
Emily later married Dr. Richard Maffitt of Clarksville, and 
Virginia married J. W. Woodward, a deaf mute, who was an 
assistant to Mr. Ward in the Clerk's office. Mr. Woodward 
and Mr. Ward caused the organization and location of the first 
Deaf Mute Institute in the state, at Clark^sville. Because of in- 



160 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

sufficient funds, this was later moved to Arkadelphia, and in time 
from there to Little Rock. 

151ind Bob Ward, a nephew of A. M., ])L'came an orphan when 
quite young, so Mr. Ward gave him a home also. Nor was his 
philanthropy misplaced, for Blind Bob proved to be a genius. He 
vvas a musician of no mean ability and acf[uired quite a fortune 
before his death, ^^■hich occurcd recently, having lived to be 
a sei)tuagcnarian. Blind Bob and Mr. Ward organized a Blind 
School and located it at Clarksville, ])ut this was also taken to 
Arkadelpliia, and in time to the Capital City. 

Andrew and William Fulton, of the noted Fultons of Penn- 
sylvania, of which Robert Fulton, the inventor of the first steam- 
boat, was a distinguished member, were county inhabitants. 
The grandfather of Andrew and william was a brother of Robert. 

Thomas Powers, who lived to be ninety years old, was once 
an active and influential man, who was prominent in church and 
municipal affairs. He was the grandfather of W. E. Floyd and 
Mrs. William Kavanaugh of Little Rock. He was the father of 
Henry Powers who married a daughter of Dr. E. E. McConnell. 
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Powers were the parents of Mrs. Lula 
Pennington, John Powers (the martyred sheriff) and other 
children. 

John Powers was doubtless the most ])opular sheriff the 
county ever had. He was serving his twelfth year in that ca- 
pacity when he was fatally wounded on the night of February 5th, 
1902, in a battle with bank robbers. He was sleeping in an apart- 
ment above the Bank of Clarksville, when awakened by the ex- 
plosion of the vault in the bank below. He hastened down stairs 
and encountered four desperadoes. He engaged them in a rapid 
firing encounter of several minutes, before the fatal shot entered 
his breast. Within an hour he was dead. One of the robbers, 
whose name was alleged to ha\e been John Dunn, was also se- 
verely wounded, but was able to gel away. It was because of this 
v%'ound that he was found later in a hospital in Wichita, Kansas. 
However, he escai)ed from this hosi)ital. "Smiling Joe" Clark, 
who proved to be a hireling of the leaders, was sent to the peni- 
tentiary for life, from which place' he absconded a few months 
later. The other two who gave their names as Fred Underwood 
and Geo. Durham were finally hanged from a hidden scaffold 
in the Countj^ Court Yard, on June 19, 1903. 



BIOGRAPHIES 161 

Joe B. King, who was a deputy to ShcM'iff Powers, was ap- 
pointed by Governor Jeff Davis to serve out the unexpired term. 
He was later elected to that office and served two successive 
terms. Sheriff King spent much time, energy, and money in 
an effort to catch the robbers and bring them to justice. J. B. 
King is the son of the late Wm. King, whose father and 
mother, the pioneers, were Isaac and Rachel. A brother of 
Isaac was named Wesley. Joseph King another i)ioneer, took 
out a land grant in 1836 in Township 9, Range 25. Mrs \Vm. 
King was formerly Sarah Lewis. Mr. and Mrs. King were the 
parents of William, Jr., Joseph, James, Beulah (Mrs. W. F. 
Laster) and Sadie (Mrs. Ben Pennington). 

Laban C. Howell was Swampland Agent for Johnson Coun- 
ty. He owned a river-bottom farm on lower Spadra, and pos- 
sessed a number of slaves. He was progressive and when 
Clarksville was located, became one of the first citizens. He 
was the father of Volney Howell, who for many years has been 
a Justice of the Peace in Spadra Township, and is also an ex- 
Treasurer of the Count3^ John W. Howell of Ft. Smith, is also 
a son. Other children were the late Jesse Howell and Mrs. 
Augusta Bone of Clarksville. Laban C. Howell v.as the son of 
Jesse Howell, who was also a pioneer of Arkansas, and settled at 
Morristown on the river, near the present town of Morrilton. 

The Collier Families were land owners in the lowlands by the 
river. Willis Collier and Wm. Collier were both settlers of the 
first decade of statehootl. W, F. Colher and his son, H. W., are 
of the present generations. They are land owners and successful 
coal operators. 

Francis Jarnagin came to Johnson County in early years 
from the state of Tennessee, and i)urchased property in the 
Breckenridge neighborhood. Mr. Jarnagin was the father of 
George, Calvin, Thomas, Richard, Susan and Manda. George 
Jarnagin, who was for years jnarshal of Clarksville, married 
Sarah Blalack and their chikhen are William, John, Frank, 
Hurly, Gus, Lucy and Ruth. 

Calvin, who married Matikki Simpson, a daughter of Ed- 
ward Simpson, who came to Johnson County in 1837, settled on 
a farm near Cabin Creek. Their family consisted of three 
boys, Thomas, John and Wallace. Thomas who married Ida 
Guthry, is at this time, Johnson County's popular Treasurer. 



W2 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Wallace died at his home in California in 1921. Manda was the 
second wife of one of Johnson Connty's patriotic sons of the six- 
lies, Sgt. Roht. Gray. 

To the west of Spadra Creek extending to the neighhorhood 
of Cabin Creek were the Clarks, Blalacks, Blackards, Williams, 
Taylors, Morgans, Bashams, Y'earwoods, Blacks and Wallaces. 

David Clark left Kentncky in 1829, and landed at Arkansas 
Post where he spent fonr years; he then moved to Pine Bluff and 
remained there another four years, before coming up the river to 
Johnson County. He first located on Greenbrier Creek, but 
fourteen years later, moved to Breckenridge. Mrs. Clark, prior 
to her marriage was Ann T. Moon. They were the parents of 
six sons and one daughter, Rebecca. Dr. Presley Clark was a 
IDracticing i}hysician south of the river. He married a Miss 
TiuMier and was the father of Mrs. R. B. Chitwood. 

Andrew Clark was the father of Mcsdames Joe B. King, John 
Ransom and H. H. Jemison. Wesley Clark was killed on the 
field of battle during the Civil War. The late D. N. Clark was 
for twent}^ years the County and Circuit clerk of Johnson County. 
There was also a Patrick Clark. D. Clark is the only surviv- 
ing member of the family. 

The Morgan families of the Ludwig and Mulberry Creek 
neighborhood are of the same descendants. Pies Morgan of 
Mulberry, was a soldier of the sixties. His mother, Mrs. Dovej'^ 
Morgan, died recently. She was past ninety years old. Jeff 
Morgan and Jack Morgan are of Ludwig. R. A. Morgan and 
Lee Morgan are sons of Jack. R-. A. Morgan and Son are suc- 
cessful merchants of Clarksville. 

The Blalacks came from Raleigh, North Carolina. Mrs. T. 
J. Lewis, Mrs. Rebecca Harris and Mrs. J. P. Stovall are the sur- 
viving members of the family. 

Toliver, Meric and Lary Blackard came from North Caro- 
lina. The late Ex-Lieut. Hezekiah (Ki) Blackard of the Civil 
War was a son of Toliver. Toliver, whose home is in Clarks- 
ville, is a son of Meric. Oscar, Noel and Ella Blackard, Mrs. 
Alice Lewis, and Mrs. Paul McKeimon are representatives in this 
county of the present generation. 

J. M. Taylor is a |)resent day member of one of the families 
of Taylors. He is a successful groceryman in Clarksville. 
Another faniilv of Tavlors is Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Tavlor who re- 



HIOdlUPIIIKS 163 

side at Ludwig. Their children are Will, Mack, Harve, Wes and 
Mrs. A. M. Ward, who resides at Lillle Rock. Ex-Jndij;e W\ G. 
Taylor was a citizen of Clarksville for many years, ar.d was a 
pioneer of the county. Mrs. Alf Landthrij) was a Taylor. 

There were a nnnd)er of \\Mllianis families over the county, 
with no relationship between many of them. The homes of 
John Williams and Finas Williams were on joining land in the 
Ludwig neij-jhborhood. They \\'ere of different families. Pink 
Williams, the father of W. S. W^illiams, is a brother of Finas. 
Mack, Jess, and Charley are sons of John. W^illiams Brothers 
of the Williams Meat Market, arc sons of another John Williams. 

Johnathan Basham came early in the thirties froni his Vir- 
ginia home. His sons, Olinver, James, Joe and Calvin, came 
with him. Each of them took out land and began to do their 
bit to improve the coinitry. Cahin met his death in the shot 
and shell of the Civil Wlir. Olinver organized a company of 
mounted men and became their captain. He later married 
Martha Patrick, a daughter of John Patrick, and they were the 
parents of Judge Hugh Basham, Dr. Olinver Basham, and the late 
Judge George Basham of Little Rock. Judge Hugh Basham 
married Emily Maffitt, a daughter of Dr. Richard Maffitt. 
Martha is their daughter. When Judge Basham was county judge 
he planted the tre:s which now surround the court house. 
He was later elected Circuit Judge and served for several years. 
Judge Basham is a prominent lawyer of the Johnson Count}^ bar. 

James Basham married Lamar Shelton, and became the 
father of W\ J., J. O., Mahlon, Cora (Mrs. N. L. Greene), Dilla, 
(Mrs. Reese P. Horricks of Little Rock), Mattie, (Mrs. W\ B. Lee) 
and other daughters, whose names are not at hand. 

W^. J. Basham is a vice president of the First National Bank 
of Clarksville, and has becMi in business, continuously, in that city 
for almost forty years. Mrs. Basham was formerly Lucj'^ 
Ragon, a daughter of E. C. Ragon of Morrison's Bluff. Ragon, 
Robert, Albert and Charlie are their sons, and Agnes, now Mrs. 
Stewart of Stuttgart, Ark., is their daughter. 

Mahlon Basham is a carpenter by trade. He married 
Mamie Edv%'ards. They are tlu' parents of two sons, Edward and 
David. 

J. (). Basham, a former merchant of CJarks\ille married 
Clara King. Their children are Bertha (Mrs. Wilson Godwin), 



164 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Walter, Bessie, King, Jewell (Mrs. Alvin Laser), Heartsill and 
Imogene. 

There was Vincent Wallace, a Methodist minister, who 
settled on Greenbrier. He went to the legislature from Johnson 
County. There were other brothers, Orren and Robert. 

F. M. Burns was a North Carolinan, who also made his home 
here in the mid-century. 

William Hamlin was also an arrival of the same decade 
from North Carolina. 

Elijah Y'earwood and his wife. Prudence Morrow, were of 
the pre-war immigrants. They were the parents of seven chil- 
dren of which John was the only one who reared a family in this 
county. Capt. James Yearwood, one of the sharpshooters of the 
Confederate Army, was killed during the Civil War. He was a 
young and gallant soldier, and was carrying a gold band ring in 
his vest pocket, awaiting an opportunity to slip it on the finger 
of "the only girl." 

Mrs. John Yearwood was Jane Ward, a daughter of na\;d 
Ward. 

There was a family of two brothers, Andrew and Ahxander 
Black. They each reared families. Enoch Black was ilic son 
of Andrew and his wife, Mabel May, a daughter of Thomas May. 
He married Sallie Estes, and for long years was proprietor of the 
City Hotel at Clarksville. Of their childreji were Mattie (Mrs. 
Fay Eichenberger), Imogene (Mrs. Joe Sharyer, deceased) and 
Sallie (Mrs. R. L. Jetton). 

On across the east of the county, covering the Cabin Creek, 
Hagarville and Piney country, there were so many per- 
sons who ])layed parts in the final shaping of the affairs of the 
state, that all who deserve, may not get worthy mention here. 
The familiar names were Johnson, Turner, Thompson, Madden, 
Houston, Davis, Blakely, Shropshire, Cazort, Gray, Simpson, 
Park, Russell, Towell, I^rown, Jones, Harris, Morgan, Mahon, 
Ross, Jackson, Barger, Wood, May, and others. 

Of the Johnson families, the relationship is baffling to even 
an old timer. Some are of the same family tree, some are not. 
The Hagarville neighborhood has for long years been the habatat 
of tile Johnsons, and was originally called Johnsonville. Some 
are farmers, bankers, teachers and merchants. One of the 
oldest families consisted of three brothers, Lewis John H., and 



IMOGRAPHIKS 165 

NVilliam. A. H. .Johnson of ('larksvillc is a son of John. Sam 
Johnson, a i)ionoer, was the falhor of Mrs. \V. F. C.olhcr. In 
each generation there has heen one oi" nioi'e R()h(M-t Johnsons. 

The Turner family was in tlie Pitlsl)iirij; niii^hhorliood. Mrs. 
Presley Clark was a Miss Tnrni'r. The first Mrs. J. V. Hui^hcs 
"was also a Miss Turner. 

The names of David, Uriah and Major Thomjjson were rep- 
resentative of good citizenship from the (kite of their arrival from 
Tennessee. Major Thompson is still rememl)ered hy older per- 
sons. A generation later the Thompsons were Monroe, James, 
Sam and Frank. Monroe married Virgic Ward, a daughter of 
Augustus M. Ward. Mrs. Phil Thompson was formerly Rachel 
Johnson. Their children are Leila (Mrs. A. N. Ragon), Lynn, 
Vesta (Mrs. Leonard Petree) and Philij). Jess Thompson is 
the son of Thomas. Fletcher Thomi)son is of another branch 
of the family. 

Thomas, Philii) and James Madden were the richest planters 
north of the river, in Johnson County, for long years. There 
is a Madden Ford to cross Piney creek, a Madden school house, 
and in days now past, many cabins of Madden negroes. 

John Houston and Ruth Stroud Houston, born in North 
Carolina, and Georgia, respectively, came to Cabin Creek from 
the state of Ohio, in territory days. Their family consisted of 
four sons and one daughter, Robert, John S., Ruth, and another 
brother who went to California and did not return. Col. J. S. 
Houston also went to California in 1849. He reir.un<d 
there for three years and came back. In the fall after 
Col. Houston arrived in California, and the constitution of that 
state had been framed, men rode for thirty days distributing 
copies over the state. J. S. Houston was one of those men. They 
received -$50.00 per day for this work, for it was a dangerous 
thing to do,. as the whole country was infested with desperadoes 
and outlaw's. On his return to San Francisco he was made 
Comptroller of State. He was on duty with Gov. Gwinn, who 
was California's first governor. Mrs. Houston was a daughter 
of Jesse Howell. Their children were Ruth (Mrs. W. R. Hunt 
of Clarksville), Mrs. John McConnell, Mrs. Joe Brown of Van 
Buren, and Mrs. Bettie Littlepage of Washington City. 

Andrew Houston was the father of John Houston, whose 
family resides in Clarksville today. There are Lilburn, John, 
Mrs. Bertha Tolbert, Mrs. Elbert Mason and Jessie Houston. 



166 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

The old Houston homestead, with the orii^inal house, is stand- 
ing near Cid)in Creek today. This old house was put up in 1836 
by the pioneers, John Houston and his son Andrew. 

Other arrivals of territorial immigration were Joseph James 
and wife, Elizabeth Sidney James, from Kentucky. Sarah 
Frances James, their daughter, became Mrs. J. H. Robinson, who 
was the mother of Mrs. T. J. Kendrick. Robert C. James, their 
only son, was kiikd at the battle of Oak Hill, early in the confhct 
of the sixties. 

Arthur Davis, the father of several sons, made his residence 
one mile east of Clarksville. Ben Davis, one of the sons, always 
resided near and in the town of Clarksville. Of his family there 
were three daughters, who, with their families, figured largely 
in the church and social life of the county. Lit was Mrs. N. F. 
Connelley, Mary was Mrs. B. D. Pennington, and Lyde was Mrs. 
John C. Hill. This Davis family is related to the Honorable 
Marcellus Davis of Dardanelle. 

T. M. Blakcly was a pioneer who settled in the neighborhood 
of Cabin Crc.Jv. He was the father of J. T. Blakely, whose wife 
was Minnie Kitchen, and who met with a terrible accident which 
caused liis death tv/enty years ago, when the train on which he 
was engineer was wrecked. 

The Barger family has bejn representative of good citizen- 
ship in the Cabin CreL^c neighborhood sine:' 1858. They emi- 
grated from Tennessee. 

Another family that did not arrive until the fifties, was that 
of Hon. Sidney B. Cazort. He located two miles east of Cabin 
Creek. He built quite a nice home for the day, and a number 
of cabins for liis slaves. Mr. Cazort went to the Civil War as a 
confederate soldier. In a few years after tlie war, his three sons, 
J. R., W. A. and G. T., then young men, went into the 
mercantile busiress together. When the railroad was built to 
Clarksville from Little Rock, a station was located f)n Cabin 
Creek and given that appellation. The Cazorts moved there, 
with their store, gin, et cetera, in which place they are today 
])re-cminently conspicuous as business men and christian gentle- 
men. They have achieved success. The father and mother 
passed away, and after long years of the mercantile business the 
brothers dissolved partnership. They have all been true to their 
homeland and cling sentimentally to the spots of sacred old- 



BIOGRAPHIES 107 

times. W. A. Cazort built a handsome modern residence, some 
fifteen years ago, three stories high, on the identical location of 
his father's old home. G. T., the youngest of the l)rothers. has 
plantations which cover thousands of acres and a number of gas 
wells located on his Haroldlon place in the Kibler Gas Field, and 
is reputed to be one of the richest men in Arkansas, but for a num- 
ber of years has lived in an unpretentious cottage in the country, 
east of Cabin Creek Not only is Mr. Cazort a man of financial 
strength, but one with a passion for the sentiment of poclry. 
He has composed some noteworthy verses and written much 
valuable history connected with the early life of Johnson County. 
He served, some years back, in the State Senate. He has one 
daughter, Vivian (Mrs. Robert Dent). Hon. Lee Cazort, a son 
of J. R., is attesting the blood of his ancestors by taking a hand 
in the shaping of the political life of the county and state at the 
present time. He has served as Speaker of the House and Presi- 
dent of the Senate, and at one time was the governor for a num- 
ber of days. W. A. Cazort Jr., served in the navy during the 
World \Yar. 

The Graj^ family came from Tennessee, also in the fifties. 
There were three brothers, Robert, William and-Xhomas, who 
dietl. Robert, one of the few Confederate soldiers left today, 
is residing, an honored old gentleman, in fairly good health, in 
the home of his daughter, Mrs. Mack (Lily) Taylor, of Clarksville. 
The knowledge Mr. Gray possesses and the interest he has taken 
in the composition of this book has added much to its c:)mplete- 
ness. W. R. Gray, who died in 1918, left a fortune, reputed to 
aggregate more than half a million dollars. He lived until his 
death, at his home, a simple httle cottage in thi^ Greenbrier 
neighborhood. He was a good man, but a cautious and careful 
one. He made his money by saving it, as well as making it. 
He was the father of one of Clarksville's most poi)ular and re- 
liable physicians. Dr. L. C. Gray, also of Bennie Gray, who is 
an extensive planter of Lamar, Charley, Howard. Arilla and May. 

Tom Gray is the son of Thomas. 

Thomas and Sarah Holmes Blair came to Johnson County 
in 1858, from the state of Mississippi, having previously moved 
from Tennessee. They were the parents of eight children. John 
G. married Ruth Houston Paine in 1879. They were resi- 
dents of Lamar. 



168 HISTOR YOF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Caleb Carey came to Arkansas from North Carolina in 1842, 
making his home near the present site of Knoxville. Dr. A. B. 
Carey, late of Knoxville, was a son of Caleb. 

Edward Simpson was a land owner and influential citizen. 
His daughter, Matilda, married Calvin Jarnagin. There was a 
*'"Little" John Simpson, a "Big" John Simpson, also, a Tom Simp- 
son. The Simpsons came to Johnson County in 1837. 

David and Eliza Carter Ross, natives of Pennsylvania, set- 
lied on Piney Creek in 1838. W. C. Ross was their son. 

Uriah Russell, who located up Little Piney, was one of 
the county's best citizens. The few persons who remember 
him, refer to him as a "good old man." The late Truss Russell, 
a splendid gentleman and a politician, was a descendant of 
Uriah. Fred Russell is the i)resent County Clerk. 

Blunt Wood who came to Johnson County from Tennessee 
in 1835, was the father of Lanech (Mack) Wood, who is today 
nearing the century mark. He is the father of Mrs. Albert B. 
Misenhimer, who is the mother of Denver, Vera, Vivian and Ralph. 

The Park family, too, were there somewhere. There 
were George and his wife, Angeline, who came from the state 
of Missouri, early in the forties. S. S. Park, whose farm is two 
miles east of Clarksville, is a son of these settlers. Mrs. S. S. 
Park was formerly Mary Blackard. They are the parents 
of eight sons and three daughters. Most of the children are 
married and live in and around Clarksville. 

John B. Brown and Sallie Houston Brown were the parents 
of John G., Houston, Perry and Jack. Jack Brown moved to 
New York City and acquired quite a fortune. Mont Brown was 
killed in Clarksville during the war. 

Thomas Mahon built a house of hewn logs with a double 
chimney between two large rooms, and a "lean to" on the back. 
He was "Massa Mahon" of a plantation on the river near the 
present town of Knoxville. This old home is still standing. The 
Mahon cemetery is still left intact also. On the stones therein 
may be seen among thai citizenship of the past: Mahons, Chotes, 
Porters, Jettons, Cases and others. 

Samuel Towell was on Piney Creek, of which family, T. E. 
Towell, a Jeweler of Hot Si)rings, is a descendant. 

John Morgan Stewart came to Piney with his father, Joseph 
Stewart, when deer and bears were plentiful in the forests. The 



BIOGRAPHIES 169 

late Dr. J. L. Slowart of Spadra was his son. The present Dr. 
Joseph Stewart of Knoxville is also a descendant. 

Abraham and Aaron Clark, uncles of A. C. Miller of Clarks- 
ville, came from Cleveland, Ohio. Relics in the family of Mr. 
Miller show them to have been cultured and refined. Their re- 
lationship as descendants of the Abraham Clark who signed the 
Declaration of Indejjendence has been clearly eslal)lished. Mr. 
and Mrs. Abraham C. Miller have been married fifty-two years, 
and are among Clarksville's oldest citizens. From their know- 
ledge of the county, much interest has been added to this l)ook. 
Their children are Aaron of Oklahoma, Hugh, Eula, Sallie, Susie 
(Mrs. Ben Phillips), Mabel (Mrs. Robert Jamison) and Bessie 
(Mrs. Harvey . 

On the morning following the falling of the stars in 1833, 
Jesse May began his westward move from Dixon County, Tenn., 
to find destination in Arkansas. Starling May, too, came along 
in his schooner wagon. Thomas May, who was destined for this 
country, also made his way about that time, across the miles 
between Dixon County, Tennessee, and Johnson County. 
Jesse May laid claim to land near the mouth of Piney Creek, 
extending to the Pope County line, and to Judge Andrew Scott's 
homestead. He was the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Abe Miller 
and Mrs. Sue Sarber. Starling May settled on a tract of land 
that lay south, in and above the town of Lamar. He was acci- 
dentally shot and killed many years ago. 

Some two hundred yards south from the outskirts of the 
little town of Knoxville, over against the hill, stands one stone 
room, all that is left of the old home of Hon. Thomas May. The 
farm land of this homestead extended over a portion of the pres- 
ent town. Mrs. May was, prior to her marriage, a Miss King. 
There were ten babies, as the years went by, in their home. At 
the time of Mr. May's arrival here, his two boys, Thomas King, 
and Alfred P., were four and one years of age, respectively. They 
grew up, receiving their education in little log school houses, and 
finishing at Cane Hill. 

Thomas K. May married Mary J. Cunningham of Washing- 
ton county. Mr. May opened a store in Newton county and was 
there a short time before moving to Clarksville in 1851. For 
sixty years, barring the four he served in the army of secession, 
the May store was a fixture in that town, where they were success- 



170 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

fill. Mr. May buried -$500.00 at tho beginning of the war, 
and when peace was made, with that amount he began his busi- 
ness again, which soon grew to be one of the largest in the state. 
Mr. May was unostentatious in manner, never seeking publicity, 
but because of his many financial successes, and christian 
generosity, he was a loader. For forty years he was superin- 
tendent of the Methodist Sunday School. Mr. May retired from 
active business ten years before his death, which occurred in 1912. 
His three sons, all eminent business men, continued the May es- 
tablishment as May Brothers. There were William T., Thomas 
Ed, and Lee C. Lee C. May died in October, 1914, and 
W. A. having previously moved to St. Louis, where May Brothers 
had interests, the business was sold. 

Ada May, the daughter of T. K. May, resides today in Los 
Angeles, California. 

T. E. May, a reliable gentleman, with sterling business quali- 
ties, makes his home in Clarksville. Mrs. May was Edwina 
James. The children of this couple arc Raymond C, who is a 
noted baritone soloist and dramatic reader in New York City, 
and Lieutenant Frank C. May of the World War, who married 
Mildred Nichols, and is Assistant Cashier at the Bank of Clarks- 
^ville. 

A. P. May was also a successful business man of Clarksville. 
His activities date back, too, before the war, though he did not 
achieve so great a fortune as his brother. He married Sallie 
Brown, a devoted christian character. Their children were 
Elizabeth (Mrs. O. C. Ludwig), Minnie (Mrs. James Kendrick), 
Ruth (Mrs. Clyde Rogers, deceased), and Thomas B. May, whose 
home is in Clarksville. 

Thomas B. May graduated from law school a number of 
years ago, but did not follow this profession. He superintends 
his farming interests, and has served as Mayor of Clarksville for 
several terms. Mrs. May was formerly Anna Leftwich of 
Missouri. Their children are Inez (Mrs. King Basham), Pauline 
(Mrs. Clyde Rogers), and Kathrync Louise. 

Walter C. May died when forty years of age, leaving three 
children. Reed, Zoe, and Mary Louise. Mrs. Walter May was, 
prior to her marriage, Annie Reed, a sister to Neely Reed. 

There was also William N. May, a cousin of Thomas May of 
the Knoxville country. He came from Carrol county, Tennessee, 



HIOCrRAPHIES 171 

in 1838, hut loft Jolinson county in 18()2 and located in l)ardan(>lk'. 

Back in the thirties, or thereahout, came Wiley Harris from 
Tennessee to the Piney settlement. Mr. Harris was a descendant 
of the Harris family who hegan their recorded lineai*e when one 
of them intermarried with a Stewart of Scothind, l)ack in the mid- 
centuries. When Charles 1, King of Scotland, was heheaded in 
1649. and Cromwell turned his attention to sympathizers of the 
unfortunate King, a large number of those who were in line 
for punishment came to America, and among them were two 
Harris hrothers who settled in Virginia. In 1680, a colony of 
Scotch people settled at Port Royal, and some of the Harris family 
went there too. But when the Spaniards from Florida marclied 
up and burned Port Royal, the colony scattered. Hencj, the Harris 
families arc found later, in all southeastern states. The line to 
which Wiley Harris belonged ^^'e^t t;) North Carolina where the 
great grandfatlier of Wiley was one Edward Harris, who was 
the father of Edwanl Harris, who immigrated to Tennessee, and 
was tho father of Wiley; Wiley was the father of Evans Harris 
of Clarksville, who was the father of Wiley, Walter, Sam, Dan 
and Annie. Edward Harris who immigrated t:) Tennes-see, mar- 
ried Dicie Carrirgton. Wiley Harris married May Hogan of 
Pine}', whose mother, before she married, was a Gossel. Evans 
Harris married Rebecca Blalack, also a pioneer family of 
Johnson County. Mr. and Mrs. Evans Harris lived in Clarks- 
ville where Mrs. Harris was Clarksville's lone photographer for 
thirty years. Her gal!cr3' was a small building which stood on 
the Thomas Powers lot v>'est from fhe present Dunlaj) Garage 
building. Mr. Hiirris was afflicted with almost total blindness 
for many y ars. 

Along Mulberry Crock, north of the mountains, by trails, 
those frontiersmen went on pack mules for many years. As 
before stated, William Collins was one of the first. 

Miirk Hill ard his vsife, Rachel, canv frcin Te: !u ssee lo the 
county, in 1829, and settled amon.u" tb.e Cherokee Irdians. John 
and Marcus were two of their sons. The Indian's did not leave 
Arkansas until two or Ihree years after the Hill's moved here. 
The Hill boys hunted with the Cherokees, themselves dressed 
in Indian garb and supplied with bows and arrows. They 
enlisted in Col. Yell's First Arkansas Mountain Regiment in the 
Mexican War. John was given the brevit of First Lieutenant. 



172 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

In the Civil War, John was made captain of Company "C" of the 
Sixteenth Arkansas Infantry. Later he received the distinction 
of Colonel. He was a tailor by trade; and owned and managed 
a mercantile store in Clarksville until the early eighties, when he 
died. He is buried in the graveyard of the Confederate dead. 
A tall obelisk was erected by the Masons, for he was once Grand 
Master of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas. 

Marcus Hill returned to his home on Mulberry follow- 
i]ig the Civil War, where he lived foiu" score years. 

The Byrds were on Mulberry too. Their double log house 
Is still standing. 

The Arbroughs were early arrivals and the Davises too. 
R. S. Davis, who is reputed to be one of the wealthiest men in 
Northwest Arkansas is one of the Davis family of Mulberry. He 
was a merchant at Coal Hill for many years before going into the 
hardware business in Clarksville, from which business lie re- 
cently retired. He is a former president of the Bank of Clarks- 
ville. Mr. Davis is a Presbyterian, and an honorable, influential 
citizen. His children are Virgil, Homer, Hoyt, Richard, (iarland, 
Kenneth and Viola. The late Mrs. Ralph Payne was also his 
daughter. 

Some of the early inhabitants of Clarksville, not given else- 
where, were Jacob Rogers, Robt. Latimer, Andrew Brown, 
Felix I. Batson, Redmond Rogers, Scimuel Strayhorn, Moreau 
Rose, John Ja€ob Dorsey, James P. King, Anthony Lewis, Rev. 
Anderson Cox, A. L. and B. F. Hersey, Dr. Richard Maffitt, Rev. 
Wm. McLean, William Swigart, Malcolm Hughes, T. R. Jett, J. 
W. Woodward, F. N. and S. G. Colburn, G. N. Gossett, Rev. Wm. 
Mears, Dr. Wm. Gray, G. W. Paine, J. E. Cravens, Dr. John P. 
Mitchell, John M. Wilson, J. B. Mauley, L. Sykes, James Wilson, 
Daniel Farmer, Connelley Bros., and others. 

Jacob and Redmond Rogers came from Virginia in the 
thirties, bringing with them many slaves. They bought lands, 
built houses, and took their places among the leaders of this new 
town. The Jacob Rogers home of the fifties is today occupied 
by R. S. Davis. Jacob Rogers was succeeded after a few years 
hy his nephew Jacob. Arthur Rogers was a son of the younger 
Jacob. Mrs. Jacob Rogers, Sr., was Sarah E. Chandler of Vir- 
ginia, and lived to be quite old. Jacob, who was a widower, 
and his son, resided with her. Bcnnie and Fannie Chandler, her 



BIOGRAPHIES 17.'^ 

nieces, were later members of her family. Hemiie married 
Judi»e Cunniiii^ham of the Fifth .hidieial Distriet of Arkansas. 
Fannie became the wife of F. R. McKennon, a promisintj yoiini^ 
lawyer, who was shot and killed a few years later. 

Hon. Felix 1. Batson was one of Clarksville's firs? lawyers. 
In uie early fifties he served as Circuit Judfje. Lat >r he was 
ai)i)()inted a jud^c on the Supreme bench of Arkansas. Judt:;<- 
Batson was also a member of the Confederate Congress. Mrs. 
Batson was Jean Ileitis of Missouri. Their only child, Emma, 
became Mrs. Jordan E. Cravens. 

Col. Jordan E. Cravens was born in Missoiui in 18,'i(), and 
his father, Xehemiah Cravens, a native of Kentucky, and whose 
father was William Cravens, moved to Arkansas in 1831. He 
settled in Johnson County, south of the river. In 185(1 or 
perhaps a short time after, Jordan E. Cravens came to Clarksville 
and read law in !he office of Judge Batson. In 1854 he obtained 
license to practice, and in 1855, became a partner with J. M. 
Wilson. Col. Cravens went into the Civil War as a private and 
came out with the distinguished brevit of Colonel. He was later 
elected to the U. S. Congress, serving in the 45th, 46th and 47th 
Sessions. Col. Cravens was a strong, honest, and conscientious 
man, who lived to be quite old. 

Rev. Anderson Cox, a pioneer preacher of the Presbyterian 
faith, who rode a circuit from Conway to Fayetteville, was born 
in Crawford, now Franklin, county, Arkansas in 1821. His 
mother was a member of the famous Buchanan family, who 
came with the Cox family and others in 1819, or 1820, and settled 
in Crawford County, in the territor}^ of Arkansas. Later they 
moved to Cane Hill. Rev. Cox, together with a Rev. Oliver, 
began to ride the circuit in 1844. Rev. Oliver died a few years 
later, leaving Rev. Cox the whole of the work. Rev. Cox organ- 
ized almost every Cumberland church between Conway and 
Fayetteville. Every neighborhood knew him, and he was 
always welcome in every home. He was the father of Colman 
and Lee Cox, Mrs. Volney Howell, Mrs, Dora Nesbitt, and Mrs. 
Harris Johnson. When Rev. Cox died he was buried at 
Salem graveyard, near Hagarville, but was later removed to Oak- 
land Cemetery at Clarksville. Mrs. Cox was Miss Eliza May, 
the daughter of Phillip May, who died before his family moved 
to Clarksville. Mrs. Phillii) May and her children settled the |)lace 



174 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

on East Hill, long owned by Joseph Evans, and later by Frank 
Carter. 

Frank Carter is also a member of the early family of 
Carters, whose farm was near Breckenridge. 

G. N. Gossitt came to Johnson County in 1835. He lived to 
Jjc an octogenarian. 

Judge Moreau Rose was a man with a high sense of 
honor and i)rogressive ideas. His farm was one mile west of 
Clarksville, jjut he moved to the new town as one of the first 
citizens. He was the fatlier of Mrs. A. C. Miller and Mrs. J. N. 
Sarber Information taken from the old scrap book of Judge 
Rose has furnished many of the facts given in this edition. A 
number of the articles pasted therein were from his own pen. 

Judge John M. Wilson, who was an excellent gentleman of 
early days, was once Judge of the Fifth District of Arkansas, and 
made his liome in Clarksville. He was born in Lincoln County, 
Tennessee, in 1817, and was the son of James Wilson, a native of 
South Carolina, born in 1773. The fallier of James Wilson w^as 
William Wilson. One James Wilson, a cousin of James Wilson, 
the father of Johr. M., was a delegate form Pennsylvania to the 
Convention that formed the Constitution of the United States, 
and previously one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. J. M. Wilson's mother, Margaret McIIroy, was born 
in Virginia in 1775. In 1855 Judge Wilson entered into a part- 
nership with Col. J. E. Cravens, which lasted until some three 
years later, wlien Judge Wilson went to the circuit bench. Judge 
Wilson was the father of two sons and several daughters. One 
daughter became Mrs. Hezekiah Blackard of Clarksville. 

The Coimelley family, consisting of six brothers, came to 
the town of Clarksville in pre-war days. Judge John G. Connelley 
was the father of Mrs. Laura Eakin Thompson of Little Rock, 
and several other children. Theo. Connelley was the second 
brother, and William, the third, who was the father of Mrs. J. V. 
(Nelle) Hughes. Dr. N. F. Connelley was one of Clarksville's 
most influential citizens of the last two decades of the century. 
George ar^d Lee were younger brothers who left Clarksville soon 
after tlie Civil War. The Connelley family came from Tennessee. 
J. G. was said to liave been the first male child born in Jackson, 
Tennessee. 

Rev. William Mears was a Baptist Minister and soldier of the 
war of 1812. He was the father of Elisha, Jerrv and Jackson. 



lUOGRAPHIKS 17") 

Elislui was on the IkmicIi as Circuit Jiuli^o just after the Civil War, 
in the days of reconstruction, when he was shot and killed from 
the roadside hy an unknown person. 

John E. Manley, an Englishniaji, who was a lawyer by profes- 
sion, and an excellent cabinet maker by trade, came to Clarks- 
ville in the late forties. His family consisted of five boys and 
five girls. Mathew Manley was the father of Dr. R. N. Manley, 
a well informed physician, who has for several years followed 
his profession at Lamar and Clarksville. 

Anthony Lewis was one of the first i)ersons to move to the 
county seat. He became interested in the organization of a 
Methodist church, also a Masonic lodge. He was one of the 
charter niLiiibers of P'ranklin Lodge No. 9, at Clarksville. 
Anthony, James, and Thomas, were three of six brothers who 
came from Tennessee prior to the statehood of .Arkansas. The 
other three, brothers went to Texas. 

Malcolm Hughes did not reach Clarksville until the late 
forties, in fact he doubtless knew nothing concerning the ])lace 
until he went to Mexico and met the Johnson County boys. He 
liked tliem, and there heard of the excellent country of Arkansas, 
so decided that he would like to live here. ^Yhile others were 
making their way to the gold fields of California, in 1849, Mr. 
Hughis had just become settled in Arkansas. His former home 
in Alabama, proved in after years, to be a wonderful iron pvu- 
ducing region, })ut he liked his adopted state, so remained here. 
His son, J. V. Hughes, was a small boy then, but today is one of 
Ciarksville's oldest and most respected citizens, and v.'as. for 
long years, connected with the furniture business in Clarksville. 
His furniture store and all the contents were destroyed by fire in 
19DL and again in 1912. Mr. Hughes has four children, Mi?^. 
Janie Connelley, Mrs. Arthur Rogers, J. V. Hughes Jr., and Neal 
Hughes. Mr. Hughes has been married twice. His first vife 
was Anne Turner whose father was Wm. Turner, and grand- 
father, Samuel Turner, who came in the thirties to Jolmson 
count}'. She was the mother of the two daughters, and the 
present Mrs. Hughes, the mother of his two sons, was Nelle 
Connelley. Mr. Hughes was a soldier of the sixties, serving all 
four years. He encountered many difficulties and privations, 
but came through it all to live to be one of the few soldiers wdio 
is todav as active as a mucli vounger man, and whose mind is 



176 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

alert and clear. In his younger days he took a hand in mu- 
nicipal and state affairs. He was often on the schoolboard and 
council and has been a zealous Mason for almost sixty years. 

The L. Sykes family came to Clarksville in 1849. For twenty 
years J. T. Sykes was the coroner of the county. 

Daniel Farmer had immigrated to Newton County prior to 
his removal to Johnson in the fifties. His five sons were William, 
Calvin, James, Hosia and John. James Farmer and his family 
have been citizens of Clarksville for many years. 

The Jamison family, of which John H. Jamison is now the 
senior member, goes back with a lineage beginning in Pennsyl- 
vania before the Revolutionary war, and from that state they 
are followed into Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas. 
Back in Pennsylvania, in the year 1779, Robt. Jamison was mar- 
ried to Ruth Webster, a cousin of the distinguished Daniel 
Webster. They were the parents of Robert, George, Webster 
and Anseln. 

Judge George Jamison came from Missouri to Johnson 
county, Arkansas , where, one night surmise, he had followed the 
girl of his choice, Polly D. Logan, a daughter of Jonathan Logan, 
late from the state of Kentucky, to which state George Jamison 
had immigrated a few years back, from Virginia, Upon the 
arrival of Mr. Jamison at the pioneer home of Mr. Logan, in 1830, 
he was married to Polly. Judge George and Polly Jamison's 
children were George, Thomas, Robert, David and Nancy Evans. 
Nancy Evans was married on Dec. 11, 1834, to John R. Homer 
Scott, of the famous Scott family of Pope county. 

Andrew Scott, the father of J. R. H. Scott, was appointed by 
President Monroe in 1819, following the forming of the Arkansas 
Terrilry, as a Judge of the Superior Court of Araknsas. He at 
once moved from St. Genevieve, Mo., to which place he had im- 
migrated from Virginia, to Arkansas Post. For eight years he 
resided in Little Rock, but in 1827, Judge Scott was made Judge 
of the first district of the territory, and in the spring of 1828 
purchased from Indian McKey, a claim up in the Cherokee coun- 
try, and moved to the farm, which he called, and is yet known 
as Scolia. John R. Homer Scott was his father's prototype in in- 
telligence and ability; he held many positions of honor and trust. 
His sister, Eliza Scott, was the wife of Ben H. Campbell of 
Chicago, 111., who was for eight years U. S. Marshal under General 



BIOGRAPHIES 177 

Grant. His sislcr, Elizabeth, was the wife of Hon. J. Russell 
Jones, also of Chicago, and U. S. Minister to Helgiuni under Gen. 
Grant, and a United States Marshal under President Lincoln. 
After Cai)t. John R. H. Scott's marriage to Nancy Evans Jamison 
he made his home in Johnson County for two years, 1834-35. 
He was a Master Mason, with his membership in Frankhn Lodge 
No. 9, at Clarksville. He was a Whig until the Democratic party 
was formed, and oi)|)osed secession until it became an accepted 
fact. 

Judge David A. Jamison and wife, Nancy, who was a 
daughter of Dr. E. E. McConnell and a sister of Hon. E. T. Mc- 
Connell had four boys born into their home, John H., Edward, 
Latta and Scotl. Judge and Mrs. D. A, Jamison and Captain and 
Mrs. J. R. H. Scott, went to California in 1853. They crossed the 
plains with scNcrai head of cattle, for which they received fabu- 
lous prices. John H. Jamison was then ten years of age. He 
grew to manhood in California, returning to Clarksville when 
twenty years old. In 1872 he was married to Ori Woodward, 
a daughter of John W. Woodward. Of their children only two 
are living, Robert Jamison of Clarksville, and Scottie, wife of Dr. 
Marion E. Foster of Paris, Ark. Earlier generations spelled the 
name "Jemison" but the last three write it Jamison. 

Dr. Wm. Gray came to Johnson County, Arkansas, in 1840. 
He had previously, \\iien only twenty-two years of age, graduated 
from medical college. His success in this comity as a phj'sician 
was reputed to have been unparalleled. In the spring of 1845, 
when a call was made for volunteers pending troul)le from the 
Indian border, he was one of the first to volunteer. He enlisted 
as a private, but was soon made Cai)tain, When two Johnson 
county companies and one Pope county company, forming the 
First Battalion of Arkansas N'oluntecrs, rode away to the Mexican 
war. Dr. Gray was in command, as Lieutenant Col. William Gray. 
His untimely death came at the age of 37. Mrs. Gray was, be- 
fore her marriage. Emetine Carothers, trained nurse from 
New York. Some years after the death of Col. Ciray, she was 
married to Col. John F. Hill. 

Col. T. R. Jett and his wife, Margaret C. (Ulley) Jett, moved 
to Johnson County, in 1853. They had prevoiusly spent four 
years in Yell County, where Mr. Jett was a government surveyor. 
He was a lawyer by profession, but followed school teaching in 



178 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

liis former home state of Tennessee, also in Pope and Johnson 
counties of this state. The Jett children were P. R., W. S., P. H., 
and Dec (wife of G. K. Choatc). The late Judge P. R. Jett was once 
a merchant of Knoxville. He was afterward elected county 
judge and moved to the county seat. Judge Jett married Miss 
M. J. E. Craig, who was a Kentuckian hy birth. They w^re the 
])arents of eight children. Judge Jett was a Civil war soldier, 
as was also his yoimger brother, W. S. Jett, who was sixteen 
years of age when he enlisted in Capt. J. C. Hill's company. 
W. S. Jett, a gentleman of honor and integrity is today a young 
man for his years. He served two terms as sheriff of Johnson 
county. He has been twice married, the first Mrs. Jett was 
Louisa Stilley, and the present Mrs. Jett was formerly Armelia 
Suddeth of Ashville, S. C. 

Dr. Richard Maffitt left Nortli Carolina, his native si.ile, in 
1849, and came to the new country of Arkansa'^, making Clarks- 
ville his lifetime home. He died in 1880. Mrs. Hugh Bashani 
is his daughter. Another daughter is Mrs. Ruth. Tani.ersley, 
and his three living sons are John, Jess, and Howel) Maffitt. Dr. 
Maffitt was an honest and dependable gentleman and a ])hysician 
of ability. 

John W. Woodward, who was a deaf mute, came to Clarks- 
ville, in the early fifties, sometime during tlie years when A. M. 
Ward Mas the county clerk. He came, a stranger, handicapped 
by an affliction, but Mr. Ward and others were only a short time 
finding out that his penmanship was beautiful and his English 
perfect. He soon became a valuable assistant to Mr. Ward at 
the court house. Many records there bear his signature. He 
Mas the author of a number of beautiful poems. "The Legend 
of the Broken Sword", is one M'hich will doubtless indelible his 
name throughout the years to come. Mr. Woodward was born 
in Virginia, and Mrs. Woodward's maiden name Mas Virginia 
C^ox. His poem called "Virginia", in M'hich he eulogized and 
intermingled the two into a beautiful rhyme, is the Mork of a 
genius. Mr. W^oodward Mas recognized over the state as one 
of the best educated men in Arkansas. He Mas left an orphan 
M'hen twelve years of age, after M'hich he Mas sent to Paris, 
France, for tutorage. During the years of 1858-59, Richard H. 
Johnson, mIio Mas the editor of the True Democrat of Little Rock, 
M'as elected to the office of State Treasurer, at M'hich time he 



I^IOGRAPHIES 179 

eiii;)Ioyo(i Mr. Woodward lo fill his place on the ))ai)cr. In 
almost every issue the topies of the day, which Mr. Woodward 
could not innunciate. were delt with in an editorial from his "ifted 
pen. His non de plume was "Tototot". A lengthy magazine 
article on the life of Col. Mathew Lion, written hy Mr. Woodward 
during the fifties, furnished a considerable |)art of the facts con- 
cerning Col. Lion in this volume. Mrs. Ori .lamison, one of 
Clarksville's best loved and most consecrated Christian mothers. 



The Legend of the Broken Sword, a beautiful poem of some length, 
written by J. W. Woodward In the fifties, is replete with the following nar- 
rative: "When Columbus returned from the ''Sunset Land", the story of that 
V onderful country spread rapidly and soon grew to such proportions that 
thousands of adventurers set sail across the Atlantic. At least one boat landed 
on the coast of Florida, and one Pedro, wandered alone far inland, with only 
his Spanish sword. The Indians told him that beyond forests and rivers to 
the west lay mountains of gold and fountains of youth. He pushed forward, 
and on the banks of the Arkansas, at the foot of those mountains, he made 
his abode with the friendly Quapaws. He soon grew to love the great chief's 
daughter, Coree, and she adored the palefaced stranger. But one day, in 
pathos, she said to him, "Ere another moon shall fall, my father has willed 
that I shall wed another." "Not so!" cried Pedro. then he told her where his 
canoe was hidden in the creek by the side of the river. Following the 
dictates of her love, she went with him. On reaching the place from where 
they would glide down the stream to their hearts' content, the good skiff was 
gone and the Indians were close behind. Nothing left to do but battle with 
them, Pedro drew his Spanish sword in defense, as the unequal combat ensued. 
When Corn saw a blow aimed at her lover's heart, she threw herself on his 
breast and there she died. Then he piled the dark forms all around him. but 
presently his good sword struck a stone and broke. 

"And so h^' fell while forms 'round him flocked; 
And then upon the greensward, side b>- side. 
In death lay Pedro and his Indian bride." 



Years had passed by: Desoto and his liand. 
In passing up the river, came to where 
Pedro and Coree died, and yet the land 
Gave forth no trace of scenes enacted there. 
Searching along the creek a place to ford 
Desoto stumbled on a broken sword. 

"Spadra!" he cried. (Spanish for broken sword) 
And so was named the stream and land around. 
Though now it has become a common woi-d. 
We've almost lost the meaning of the swoid 
Name of the stream, where in youthful pride. 
Coree, the Indian maiden, loved and died. 

Thus, borne on the night breeze, you may heai- 
The waters murmuring o'er their rocky bed; 
Thus it has murmured from year to year 
'Till since her death three centures have fled — 
Wild, lonely then, now crossed by bi-idge a-ul fot-d. 
'Tis "Spadra Creek " sti-eam of the broken s .vord. 



180 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

is a daughter of John Woodward. Mrs. Jamison is a woman of 
inherited abihty. Many newspaper articles worthy of comment 
liave been written by her. Two grown sons of Mr. and Mrs. 
Jamison, John and Charley, have died within the past two years. 

Dr. John P. Mitchell came to Clarksville before the Civil War, 
from Mitchell, in Culpeper county Va., a village named for that 
fainily. Johnson County has never possessed a more loyal citi- 
zen than Dr. Mitchell. He was outspoken in his appreciation. 
He gave the flowers of frientlship to his living companions rather 
than the dead. He was one of the most zealous workers in se- 
curing the Cumberland College at Clarksville, and could not have 
been more elated, when the final decision was made, had it 
been his very own. Dr. Mitchell married Louisa Willis, whose 
family was among the early settlers. They were the parents of 
three children, Dr. John P. Jr., William, and Selma, all of whom 
are dead. 

James Mitchell was a brother of J. P. He was a farmer, and 
was the father of two daughters, Lou and Nette. The latter, 
who became Mrs. Ewing, died two years ago in Colorado. Her 
ashes were deposited in Oakland Cemetery at Clarksville. Lou 
Milcbell married M. A. Lucas, who came to Clarksville twenty- 
five years ago as passenger agent for the Missouri Pacific railw^ay. 
For many years past he has been the efficient cashier of the Bank 
of Clarksville, and is one of the largest stockholders. 

John H. Robinson, a young man from North Carolina, came 
to Johnson County in the fifties. Just prior to the war he 
married Sarah Frances James, a daughter of Joseph James. Mr. 
Robinson was a man with many friends, and much money. Mrs. 
Ro])iiison was an ideal mother and a good friend. Their daughter, 
Elizabetli Robinson Blythe Kendrick, wife of T. J. Kendrick, is 
perhaps the best known and most loved woman in Johnson 
county. She is a true friend; she is the soul of charity, — especial- 
ly docs she look after the poor and needy. Elizabeth Robinson 
was married, first to E. 1). W. Blythe, whose birth place was 
Grenado, Fishoning County, Mo., and who was an attorney, 
practicing in Clarksville. Her second marriage was to T. J. 
Kendrick a gentleman of the old school. Her children are John 
Blythe of Missouri, Mrs. Robinson Blythe Smith, wife of Dr. W. 
F. Smith, special surgeon of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, Little 
Rock, T. J. Kendrick, Jr., and Charley Kendrick. 



BIOGRAPHIES 181 

(labriel \V. Paine and Mary HaniuMs Paine born in North 
Carolina and Tennessee, in IcSdl and 1803, respectively, left 
Tennessee and came to Arkansas at an early date. Their children 
were Thomas B., Columbns, Francis, Houston, Susan, Julia Ann 
and Easter. Gabriel Paine was one of the first boarding house 
proprietors in (Tarksville. The father of Gabriel was John 
Paine, who was a first cousin of the noted Thomas Paine of 
Tennessee. Mattie C. Paine, a daughter of Thomas B., was for 
long years postmistress of Lamar. Flora (Mrs. S.C. Sharyer) 
of Clarksville, R. G., F. M., Gordon (deceased), and Senator 
Jake R. Wilson of Eldorado, are children of Elizabeth Paine, w^ho 
was Mrs. Charlie Wilson. Mrs. Tobe Adkins and Mayor Joe B. 
Paine of Van Buren, Mrs. Flora Eichenberger, Mrs. Emma 
Shangle, Mrs. Hallie Price, Robert, Lillie and Elizabeth Paine, 
were children of Francis and Susan Paine. Mrs. B. M. Riddell 
is a great-granddaughter of Gabriel Paine. Her mother was 
Gertrude Paine, daughter of Columbus Paine. Other children 
of Gertrude Paine King are Hannah, Myrtle, and Martha. This 
name is spelled two ways. Gabriel Payne took out a land grant 
but in an old biography is found Thomas Paine. Thad Pajaie 
of Clarksville is a descendant of another branch of this same 
family. His father was Wm. Paine of Tennessee, who was a 
cousin to Gabriel. Ralph Payne is one of the sons of Thad. 

Back somewhere in the course of the years before the inter- 
ception of the mid-cenlury conflict, there came a gentleman and 
his lady, u]} from New Orleans. In the history of the country of 
Scotland is a lineage from days of old^ of a coiuily knight, with 
deeds of valor, wliose name was Southcrland. Southerlands 
since, in that highland country, have all claimed a lineage un- 
broken. In those days, when the lure of the new world was still 
in the blood of youth, one Alexander Southcrland crossed the 
Atlantic by the long trip to that popular southern port of New 
Orleans . While in that city he married Miss Cox, who was from 
Scotland too. After several years they came to Clarksville. 
They had one daughter, Amanda, and two sons. One son died 
in Clarksville and the other went to Tennessee. Mr. Southcrland 
was a confederate sokHer from Johnson County and served 
throughout the war. Death had claimed both parents when 
Amanda was twelve yaers of age, and while she was still in her 
teens she was married to Abraham Laster, a nephew of the 



182 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

pioneer Abraham. Seven children were born into their home. 
Soon the father died, and while some of them were yet children, 
the mother died too. These boys and i»irls grew to be splendid 
men and women. They are Arthur, Walker, who is the present 
Mayor, Ruby, (Mrs. L. C. Gray), all of Clarksville, also Carl, 
Arch, Lena (Mrs. Griffin) and Mary, who is the wife of the cele- 
brated scientist, J. W. Stimpson, all of California. 

Mr, and Mrs. Herman Koschwitz, emigrants from the 
"Fatherland" were post-war arrivals in Johnson County. As the 
years passed four children came into their home, one of whom 
died. Mr. and Mrs. Koschwitz both died in the late nineties. 
Annie, the oldest child and only daughter, with her two young 
brothers, went to Washington City, where she was a government 
employee. Annie is now the wife of Hon. L. F. Kneipp of 
Washington City, who has for a number of years been connected 
with the U. S. Forest Reserve. A picture of President Harding 
and the two small sons of Mr. and Mrs. Kneipp, appeared recently 
in the Saturday Evening Post. Frederick Koschwitz is a graduate 
from the Harvard Law School and resides in New York City. 
Herman is a banker 

E. D. W. Blythe, whose native state was Mississippi and who 
had previously settled with his brother at Waldron, Arkansas, 
came to Clarksville in 1879, following his marriage to Elizabeth 
Robinson. He was a lawyer and a journalist. In the latter 
profession, he was known as a caustic and forcible writer. His 
son, John Blythe, of Kansas City, is a prototype of the older cast, 
with everybody his friend. E. D. W. Blythe was said to have 
been responsible for the unearthing of the conditions in the Coal 
Hill mines, where the state convicts were employed. This has 
since been called "The Coal Hill Convict Horror." 

Sometime in the seventies there came a family from Osa- 
watawa, Kansas, Dr. and Mrs. William I. James. Dr. James was 
a native of Kentucky but was reared in Illinois. Mrs. James was, 
prior to her marriage, Kathrine Margard, of Iowa. Their 
children are Grace James, a trained nurse, in Texas, Maude (Mrs. 
J. E. Morgan of Denver, Colo.), William of California, and 
Edwina (Mrs. T. E. May of Clarksville). Mrs. May is a woman 
with an abundance of energy, with wdsdom and clearness of 
thought. Because of her fitness she naturally takes an active 



BIOGRAPHIES 183 

and leading part in all organizations with which she is connocted. 
She is an ardent church worker. 

The Tacket family was in Johnson (bounty too during 
the rush to the gold field of California, for it is said that two of 
the Tacket hoys were slaughtered in the Moiuilaiu Meadow Mas- 
sacre in Utah. 

There were many other families over the county at large in 
pre-war days. Some who are unknown at this time, hut a few of 
them are still familiar: Norvil, Nourse, Gillian, Houser, Koonse, 
Watts, Arnold, Tate, Dover, Clemmons, Patterson, Price, Swift, 
Nard, Tucker, Seldon, Wise, Langford, Dickerson, Drew, Lind- 
se3% Boen, Casey, Scaggs, Pace, Smith, Dunn, Garner, Holloway, 
Kirby, Powell, Temple, Wright, Moore, Hudson, Whorton and 
Frazier. 

ARRIVALS BETWEEN 1865-1880 

Immediately following the close of the war, Capt. J. W. May, 
who had previously resided on the south of the river, came to 
Clarksville, w here were many of the soldier boys of his company. 
Capt. May at one time operated a grist mill on Shoal Creek and 
it is said that the large stone with which the grinding was done 
may still be seen in the bottom of the stream. Capt May's 
mercantile establishment in Clarksville was one of the largest 
firms of the county . He called it an emporium and made an ef- 
fort to carry out to the fullest the meaning of the word. 

B. D. Pennington, who was born in Mecklenburg, Va., in 
1828, came to Clarksville immediately after the war ended and 
went into the mercantile business. He married Mary Ann 
Davis, and built a beautiful home, standing today on Johnson 
street. He reared and educated a family of boys and girls, only 
two of whom are living, Ben Pennington of Oklahoma, and Mrs. 
Cora McGlumphy of Van Buren. 

Col. J. N. Sarber, who was born in Pittsburg, Pa., came to 
Clarksville from Kansas as a scout under Col. Cloud of the 
Federal army. He was stationed in Clarksville for two years and 
later married Sue Rose. He then made Clarksville his home 
through the remainder of his natural life. The Republicans 
were in power and for a full decade, between 1865 and 1875, he 
dominated the affairs of this section. He was a lawyer and a 
man of education. Col. Sarber caused to be formed, in 1874, 



184 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

a new county, which in his honor was named Sarbcr. A short 
time after however, when that regime was passed, the confederate 
citizenship of the county, through the legislature, changed the 
name to Logan. Col. Sarher was United States Marshal of the 
Western District under President Grant. He received the brevit 
of Colonel when acting in that capacity for the 306 who espoused 
the renomination of Pres. Grant in 1H72. Mrs. Sarber is now re- 
siding in California. 

The McKennon families who liad ])reviously immigrated to 
Carrol County from Tennessee, came on lo Johnson after the war. 
Capt. A. S. McKennon had been associated with many of the 
soldier boys from Johnson Coimty in the 16th Arkansas and was 
a 3'oung man just previously married to Miss Berry, a niece of 
the distinguished United States Senator J. H. Berry. Capt. Mc- 
Keimon together with Major Swagerty, opened a store, and began 
the sale of general merchandise. A year or two later Buckner, 
McKennon and his sister Sallie, and the father of the three, a re- 
tired physician. Dr. Archibald McKennon, moved to Clarksville. 
Mrs. Lucretia McKennon, who was the widow of Harvey McKen- 
non, came with he.r family of six l)oys and two daughters, A. M., 
F, Pi., Dallas, Foster, Onnie, P\o])erl, wlio later moved to Texas, 
Spratte (Mrs. Berry) and Bee (Mrs. Hamilton). 

Mrs. Mary Nelson, another widowed daughter of Dr. Mc- 
Kennon, came also with her family. She was the mother of Dr. 
Onnie Nelson, who is widely known over the county, and who has 
been a practitioner in the profession of dentistry in Clarksville 
for long years. The husband of Mary McKennon was Robert 
J. Nelson, who was the son of Prudence Polk, who was a sister 
of Samuel Polk, the father of the ))resident of the United Stales, 
James K. Polk, of the Duck river district, Maury County, Tenn. 
Robert J. Nelson was an orj)han early in life and was taken into 
the home of his uncle, Samuel. Tiie fatlier of Samuel Polk was 
Ezekial, vxliose father, Robert Polk emigrated from Ireland to 
America. The home of the earlier families of Polks was in 
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Samuel Polk moved to 
Tennessee in 1806. 

Cai)t. A. S. McKennon began the study of law while yet in the 
mercantile business, and after being admitted lo the bar became 
one of the leading lawyers of the state. He was a persuasive 
talker, tender hearted and generous, \\ ith a goodly supply of w^it. 



BIOGRAPHIES 185 

He was considered one of the best criminal lawyers in llie slate. 
The children of his first wife wc>re Minnie, Dr. (ieoii^e, of liussell- 
ville, Ordnier (deceased), and Archie (Mrs. Eugene Towell) of 
Hot S[)rings. Capt. McKennon was married a second time, to 
Hannah Basham. Dr. P. D. McKennon of Fort Smith is their 
son, and the late Dr. Charley McKennon was also their son. 
They were tlK> parents of several other children. Ci\\){. Mc- 
Kennon died in 1920 at McAlister, Oklahoma, where he nvoved 
more than twenty years ago following an appointment he received 
from the President as a member of Dawes Indian Commission. 
Capt. McKennon was an earnest temperance worker. He gave 
much of his time and energy while in Johnson County, espous- 
ing the cause. After going to Oklahoma he madt' his efforts 
state-wide and deserved much of the credit for Oklahoma's 
temperance activities. Mrs. McKennon passed away several 
years ago. 

Buckner McKennon was a traveling salesman. He married 
Maggie Harle^^ Mrs. McKennon was a woman familiar with all 
the to})ics of the day, and was able to intelligently talk or write 
about them. She took the primal move to enforce the three- 
mile temperance law in Johnson County, a law back in the Ar- 
kansas arcliives, hidden and lost. When Mrs. McKennon re- 
membered that she had, at some time read about that status, she 
consulted lawyers of her acquaintance and they did not remem- 
ber of such a law, but she insisted, and finally her brother-in- 
law, Capt. A. S. McKennon, found it. Together they went to 
work and soon the law itself, was at work. Mr. and Mrs. 
Buckner McKennon were the parents of R. H., of the McKennon 
House Furnishing Co., of Clarksville; Paul, a widely kown mem- 
ber of the Bar of Johnson county; W. A., and Basil of Louisiana, 
and Mrs. Autumn Belt of Oklahoma. 

Dr. A. M. McKennon is the only living member in Johnson 
County of the two generations who first came to Johnson county 
bearing the McKennon name. Dr. McKennon has been for long 
years, beginning in the seventies, one of the most energetic and 
j)rominent business men of Northwest Arkansas. He was a 
practicing physician for twenty-five years. He retired and for 
some time personally managed his plantation in the Hartman 
river bottom. After the death of Capt. J. C. Hill, Dr. McKen- 
non i)urchased his property on the corner of Main and Fulton 



186 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

streets and was the manager and principal owner of one of the 
largest mercantile establishments in the county until 1920, when 
he sold to the Clarksville Mercantile Co. Dr. McKennon was 
for many years President of the School Board. Mrs. J. M. 
Davis of Little Rock, Mesdames D. W. Dunlap and A. N. Hannah 
of Clarksville, Mrs. Florence Blair of Minneapolis and Mun 
McKennon of Scranton are the children of Dr. McKennon. 

Capt. John C. Hill, following the close of the Civil War, was 
married to Lyde Davis, daughter of Ben] amen Davis of Clarks- 
ville. He was a merchant in Clarksville throughout his life. 
Capt. and Mrs. Hill were the parents of two children, John C. Jr., 
and Lillie. The former was quite young wdien he graduated from 
college where he won a number of medals of honor. He was a 
writer of some repute. His articles appeared in the Saturday Eve- 
ning Post and other magazines. Being an expert judge of cotton 
with a keen intuition and a versatile flow of English, he soon 
reached the top in his profession. For twenty years and until 
his death in 1919, he was manager of, and held a seat on the Cot- 
ton Exchange in the city of New York. Mrs. J. C. Hill Jr., was 
Annie Hightower of Ft. Smith. She has one son, who is J. C. 
Hill, III. Lillie Hill was educated in eastern schools, finishing 
in the Boston Conservatory of Music. She was married in 1897 
to Walter Boogher of the Boogher Dry Goods Co., of St. Louis. 
They visited England, France, Italy and other European countries 
on their wedding tour. Mrs. Boogher is now a widow and re- 
sides in New York City. Capt. J. C. Hill was the son of William 
Hill of the Shoal Creek neighborhood south of the river. His 
mother was Lillie Ward, a daughter of Maj. John Ward. Capt. 
Hill died in 1910 and Mrs. Hill died in 1914. 

Major Harold Borland was the editor of the Clarksville 
Democrat in the late sixties. Maj. Borland was graduated from 
W^est Point Military Academy in the class of 1860. He rendered 
distinguished service in the army of the Confederacy. He was 
the son of Col. Solon Borland, who was a veteran of two wars, 
a United States Senator and a United States minister to Panama. 
Maj. Borland lived to be an octogenarian. 

Judge J. W. Robnson was a magistrate of Lamar for almost 
twenty years. He came from Alabama to Johnson County with 
his father, J. S. Robinson in 1877. They resided in Clarksville two 
years before going to Lamar, where they became associated with 



BIOGRAPHIES 187 

Cazort Brothers in Iho liinibcr and i^in business. Leo, the only 
daughter of .ludge Robinson, is now Mrs. Lynn 'Hionipson of 
Clarksville. 

When James Anderson Rhea of Handeock County, Tennessee, 
returned from four h)ni>- years of soldier life he found that Mrs. 
Rhea had died only three days before the surrender. His farm 
land was bare of houses and fenees; his i^rist mill i^one, and his 
negroes free. Instead of making an effort to reelaim his for- 
mer property lie hitehed up his team and left with his tin-ee small 
children, Elizabeth, xVmanda and Lucy. He traveled through 
\'irginia, Missouri, Arkansas and the Indian Territory into Texas, 
He remained in Texas for a year, but on account of much illness, 
again started across the country. When he reached the Horse- 
head Creek neighborhood in Johnson County, Arkansas, he 
stopped at the home of Phillip May and asked the price of frying 
chickens. When tt)ld that they were twenty-five cents, he re- 
marked that he had reached the place to locate and raise chickens. 
Four years later, in 1872, he moved to Clarksville and engaged 
in the transfer business. James Anderson Rhea was the son of 
Elijah Rhea, of the family for whom Rhea County, Tenn., was 
named, and his mother was Lucy Anderson of Virginian lineage, 
but a member of the family for whom Anderson County, Tenn., 
was named. He was a nephew of Congressman M. J. Rhea of 
Tennessee. Mrs. Rhea was prior to their marriage, a Mrs, 
Rayhab (Brewer) Seal. Elizabeth Rhea married John P. MoUoy. 
Amanda Rhea died at the age of twenty. Lucy Rhea is a Mrs. 
Horner of Dark. She is the mother of Foster and Beulah Hargis. 
Eb Rhea for many years a resident of Clarksville, also Robert 
(deceased) and Geo. Rhea of Edna, were nephews of J. A. Rhea. 

At Princton in Dallas County, Ark., before the Civil War, 
resided the family of Basil C. Harley. They had previously immi- 
grated to that i)lace from Mississippi. Their native home was 
Virginia. Hon. Basil C. Harley was at one time the Lieut, (iov. of 
the state of Mississipi)i, and after their removal to Prinston was 
elected to the Arkansas Senate and thereby became the Lieut. 
Governor of Arkansas. Mrs. Harley was Mary Thomi)son. Their 
children were James, William, Clabe, Livingston, .1. T. and 
Maggie. 

James Harley had occasion, back in the fifties, to visit 
Clarksville. He liked the little town so much that when the war 



188 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

was over he came back and went into business, first with a tin 
shop and later hardware. This store was burned in the early 
seventies and with it the old E. E. McConnell residence, Drug 
Store and in fact that whole block. That was the first con- 
flagation on that corner. Hon. Basil C. Harley had passed away 
in Dallas County, in the meantime, and Mrs. Harley and family 
moved to Clarksville. James Harley married Amanda Ward, a 
daughter of Augustus M. ^Yard. ^Yilliam Harley married Clem- 
mie May, oldest daughter of T. K. May, and Livingston Harley, 
now Dr. Harley, moved to Paris and l)egan the practice of medi- 
cine. He married Bettie Calthrop, who was the daughter of 
a pioneer of Johnson County. Mrs. AYm. Hardwick of Clarks- 
ville is a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Livingston Harley. J. T. 
Harley married Margaret Connelley of Clarksville. The only 
daughter of the family, was Maggie, (Mrs. Buckner McKennon.) 
Hon. ^Y. D. Allnutt held a clerkship in ^Yashington city when 
he resigned to come with Congressman C. C. Reed to Arkansas. 
After residing in this state for a time, he grew to like it. He 
found tlie girl of his choice in Clarksville, in the person of 
Augusl.i jiobinson, a daughter of Hon. Littlebcrry Robinson. 
They \Nere mai'ricd and two iiabies, Lilly and Richard had come 
into Iheir hoiiic when Mrs. Allnutt died. Mr. Allnutt is a lawyer 
by profession. He is a man of few words Init accurate and de- 
pendable in all his dealings. After a number of years Mr. 
Allnutt married a second time. The i)resent lady of that title 
was Nelle Edwin, a beautiful young woman who had recently 
emigrated from Scotland. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Allnutt 

FOOT NOTE — A coincidence that may be intei-osting to the members, and 
probably to posterity of the Harley and Ward families, is the frequency of their 
in tor marriage during' the past seven generations. The l.u^t t\\(.> bL-inj^- made 
without their cognizance of a common ancesterage. Som-' old letters of the 
family filed away years ago by Mrs. Maggie Harley ;McKeanon revealed the 
lineage. An outline will be given here for those who care to know. 

Henry Bowen was a brother of Rees Bowen who was killed in the Battle 
of King's Mountain in the Revolutionary war. A daughter of H'vnry Bowen 
was the mother of Henry Bowen Thompson of Tazwell County, Virginia. Islaiy 
Thompson, a daughter of Henry Bowen Thompson, was INIrs. Basil Harley who 
moved to Johnson County. 

Mrs. Basil Harley was the mother of Maggie Harley, who married B. P. 
McKennon. Mrs. B. P. McKennon was the mother of Basil McKennon. 

Mrs. John Ward, wife of Major John Ward, was a sister of Henry Bowen. 
Major and Mrs. Ward were the parents of Augustus M. Ward. Augustus M. 
was the father of William and Amanda. William Ward was the father of 
Margaret Ward. In the early sixties James Harley married Amanda Ward. 
Within the past decade Basil C. McKennon iTiarried Margaret Ward. 



BI()(,RAPHIES 189 

are William, Colon, Kalhorinc and Jean. This family moved to 
Little Rock three years ai>(). Mr. Allnntt's native state is Maryland. 

J. C. Faueett came from North Carolina in 1871 and settled 
near Cabin Creek. Mrs. Faneette was Mary Tripp of RoUa, 
Missouri. 

\Vm. B. Higi>s arrived in the Pittsburg neighborhood of .lolni- 
son County, from the state of Tennessee, prior to the sixties. His 
sons were J. W. and H. A. Higgs. J. W. now resides in the old 
home settlement, while Horace A. Esq., is a citizen of Clarksville. 
His former home, however, was Knoxvillc. Mrs. H. A. Higgs 
Avas Ella Angeline Mosley of Marion, Illinois. The children in 
tliis family are Mrs. W. C. Hobbs, Gertrude (Mrs. Humphrey). 
Eunice (Mrs. Morin), Rachel (Mrs. Lee Morgan), Howell and 
Roland. 

R. J. Dunlap and liis little family came to Johnson County 
from Oxford, Miss., in 1875. They had previously moved to that 
state from Lancaster, S. C, where Mr. Dunlap had served for 
four years as a Confederate soldier in the 1st South Carolina 
Regiment. Mrs. Dunlap was, before her marriage, Margaret 
Montgomery, each having originally cmigated from Ireland. 
The children in this home were Robert David, Harry, Carl, all 
deceased, Nelle (Mrs. Ernest Fontaine), and Birdie. Mr. and 
Mrs. Fontaine are the parents of two boys, Ernest Jr., and James 
Robert. Mr. Fontaine is a native of Kentucky. Robert D. 
Dunlap, who married Effie Ward, was one of the most successful 
men the county ever possessed. His keen perception, intuition 
and energy, coupled with a personality for making friends, won 
for him not only a large business success but scores of friends at 
home and wherever he went. Mr. Dunlaj) died in 1918. His 
children are D. Ward, Robert, Polly (Mrs. M. A. Scarborough). 
and Jefferson. 

D. Ward Duidap is administrator of his father's estate and 
has large coal mining interests. He is at this time a member 
of the Arkansas Democratic Central Committee. 

Robert D. Dunlap is cashier of the First National Bank of 
Clarksville, and also, has much coal interests. 

To trace the genealogy of the Dunlap family one must begin 
with the children, D. Ward, Jr. and Robert T., who are the sons of 
D. Ward and Robert D. Jr., who are the sons of R. D. Dunlap.. 
Sr., who was the son of Robert Jefferson Dunlap, whose father. 



UK) HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Jjack ill South Carolina, was Robert David Montgomery Dunlap, 
who was the son of James Dunhip, the son of John D. Dunlap, 
who emigrated from Dublin, Ireland, sometime before the 
Revolutionary war, for John was an American soldier under 
General Washington. 

Mrs. R. J. Dunlap (Margaret Montgomery), whose home is in 
Clarksville, is the daughter of Rol)ert Montgomery, ^vho was the 
son of Nemon Montgomery, who immigrated to South Carolina 
from Ireland. 

The \Miite family were pre-war settlers but the information 
at hand begins with C. White, wdio with his family of several 
daughters and one son, Fred, resided during the latter part of the 
jjast century on the old homestead of Arthur Davis, which Mr. 
While had purchased. Fred White married Jennie Montgomery, 
daughter of Dr. Montgomery of Spadra. 

J. M. Coi)elaiid, whose native land was South Carolina, but 
who went from there to Rome, Ga., thence to Madison County, 
yVrkansas, died in the latter place in 1872. Mrs. Copeland, nee 
Amanda Manning, with her family of three boys and one daughter 
moved to Clarksville in 1874. J. W. Copeland is the only one 
living at this time. He married Ludy Scott of Yell County. They 
have three living children. Luther, a son of J. M. died a number 
of years ago. Luther Copeland is his son. He also left two 
('aughters. 

W. T. Evans, a native of South Wales set sail for America in 
18()9, and after spending eight years in Ohio, moved to Clarksville. 
Mrs. Evans had died jireviously in South A\'ales and Mr. Evans' 
family consisted of two sons and four daughters. The two sons 
and one daughter were the members who came to Clarksville wdth 
him, D. J. p]vans, an eminent musician, moved to Lttle Rock 
and taught in the schools there; Gwennie (Mrs. Ed Kraus), and 
Joseiih, whose wife was Susie Griffiths of Ohio, was also a native 
of \\'ales. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Evans' children are Mrs. Mary 
Harris, Mrs. Lizzie Cunningham, Mrs. Martha Moore, Mrs. Maude 
Marlar. Joseph Evans traveled every summer. He sj)ent 
several months one year touring England, Wales, Scotland, 
France and the Isle of Man. Mr. Evans died in 1918. 

John Patrick Molloy made his bow into Arkansas early in 
the seventes, having been at the delta of the Mississippi when the 
yellow fever epidemic began to rage, he made flight up that river 



lUOGRAPHIES 191 

and theiicc up the Arkansas to Dardaiicllc and Russellvillc. John 
Patrick was the son of Steven and Annie I^okind MoUoy of Kils- 
brush, Irchind. The father, Steven, who took jjassai^e for 
America back in the fifties, was washed overboard and drowned. 
Annie Bokind i>re\\ up in Ireknid before it was the fashion to send 
girls to school, therefore a tutor was provided for Anne and her 
sister Margarette. Margarette later became Mrs. O'Shaughnessy 
and her husband was Secretary to the Police Commission in 
London, England for forty years. Anne, after the death of her 
husband taught school and for several years before the end of 
her life, drew a j^ension from the English Government 
for the long service of forty-one years in the school room. 
She married a second time and became Mrs. Dan Galvin, 
but Mr. Galvin died at the end of two years. The last 
twenty-five years of her life were spent at the Moyasta Place with 
relatives, Col. and Lady Grace Vandelour. Anne Boland Molloy 
Galvin was the mother of J. P. of Arkansas U. S. A., Charley of 
Ireland, Annie (Mrs. Rege Brennen of London, England), Minnie 
(Mrs. Godwin Tilton, of Ireland), Margarette (Mrs. Regenald 
Meeks, of Waga Waga, New South 'Wales, Australia), and Mrs. 
Elizabeth Burke of Detroit, Michigan, whose daughter, Mrs. Mary 
Burke Peas, is the chief editor of the Canadian magazine, The 
Echo; also Dan Galvin, a graduate of Trinity College, whose home 
is in Sidney, Australia. 

John Patrick Molloy was educated in a monestary in Kils- 
brush, Ireland. He served in the English navy four years and 
then went on a trading vessel as second, and later first mate, and 
eventually, captain. He circumnavigated the globe three times, 
was on the Great Lakes for a year and cruised in the West 
Indies, during the Civil war. When he came to Clarksville in 
1872, he met the only girl, Elizabeth Rhea. He was a jeweler in 

FOOT XOTE — It win doubtle.ss be interesting to those who bear the name 
of Molloy, to know that it is said by historians to be a name of real antiquity, 
tracing- back to a chieftain who descended from "Niall of the Nine Hostages, 
the High King of Ireland", in the fourth century. The histories of the "High 
Kings" who held sway over the various clans are recorded in an unbroken 
line, from the joint reign of two brothers, Heber and Herman, in 1700 B. C, 
down to the death of Roderick O'Conner, the last and one hundred eighty-third 
of the "High Kings", at which time in the latter part of the 12th century A. D., 
the Irish national steucture began to crumble under the onslaught of the 
Anglo-Xornians. The clan seat was in ancient "Ferceall". in Meath, now in 
Kings County. Ireland. The name was first the Celtic word. Maoluah and 
C'Malumaiah. It is now O'Malloy. MuUoy or Molloy. 



192 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Clarksvillc for twenty-six years. Mr, and Mrs. Molloy's living 
children are Ella (Mrs. Cooper Langford), Steve, of Missouri, 
Rhea, of Chicago, Terrence D., of Clarksville, and Dr. John 
Patrick Molloy, an optician, of Missouri. 

Q. B. Poynor landed in Johnson from Madison County, alone 
and empty handed, early in the seventies. He had started out in 
the world to seek his fortune. Mr. Poynor found it, not by acci- 
dent awaiting him somewhere, but by earnest endeavor and well 
earned achievements. He married in 1885 to Fannie Ogilvie, 
a daughter of W. S. Ogilvie. Mr. Poynor farmed until 1884 
when lie was elected Circuit Clerk of Johnson County. This 
place he held for two terms. After that time expired he went 
into the mercantile business. He was a successful merchant. 
After the death of Mr. Poynor, his daughter Erla, became the busi- 
ness manager. The Poynor children are Erla (Mrs. H. VV. 
Collier), Howell, Burns (deceased), Francis, who is Vice-Presi- 
dent of the Farmers National Bank, Clarksville, Virgie, who is 
Dean of Music of the College of the Ozarks, Mamie, Amy and Will. 

The parents of Q. B. Poynor were George and Martha Davis 
Poynor, who immigrated to Madison County, from Georgia. Their 
other children were Dr. I .M., Dr. G. V. and Dr. J. W. 

John Robinson Miller was born in Ashville, S. C. in 1838, and 
when a young man moved to Watervally, Miss. While there he 
married Miss Harriett Zinn and in 187(5, they moved to Johnson 
County, Arkansas. Mr. Miller was a soldier, having served 
throughout the term of the war. His father whose place of resi- 
dence was Ashville was also J. R. Miller. A son of the subject 
of this ketch is J. R. Miller. He is a merchant who owns and 
manages a number of stores, with headquarters in Ft. Smith, Ark. 
James Miller, another son, is a professional baritone singer in con- 
cert work, with headquarters in New York City. Elizabeth, 
Hattie, Nelle, May (Mrs. W. F. Rebsman), Jennie (Mrs. Cook, de- 
ceased), Eula (Mrs. C. W. Paylor), Molly (Mrs. John Porter), are 
other children. Mr. Miller located at Cabin Creek, when he first 
came to this country, but being a staunch Presbyterian, when 
Arkansas Cumberland College was located at Clarksville, he 
moved there and became an active and faithful v.orker for that 
institution. 

John Thomas Davis and his wife, Emma McKissisk, came to 
Johnson County, Ark., from Union, S. C, in 1871. They located 



BIOGRAPHIES 193 

near Cabin Creek on a farm where Mr. Davis passed away in 1H81. 
Mrs. Davis remained on the farm for a nnmber of years, before 
moving to Clarksville, her present home. Her ehildren are 
liattie (Mrs. (1. W. Hinehie), SalUe. Martha (Mrs. Orville Daniel, 
(leeeased), and John M. Davis of Little Roek. Dr. G. W. Hinehie 
was the postmaster of Clarksville muk'r [^resident Harrison. 
John M. Davis is a former eashier of the Hank of Clarksville. He 
was the first Slate Hank Examiner of Arkansas and held that 
position for two terms. He was then eleeted President of the 
Exehani^e National Hank of Little Roek, one of the strongest 
banks in the state, whieh plaee he now holds. Mr. Davis has a 
pleasing personality and many friends. His rapid progress up- 
ward attests his effieieney. Mrs. Davis was formerly Norma 
MeKennon. Their ehildren are Emma, Neita and John Jr. 

The parents of John Thomas Davis were John M. and Harriett 
Johnson Davis. Harriett Johnson was the daughter of John 
Johnson who was a brother of David Johnson, the first governor 
of South Carolina. Gov. Johnson was made the Chief Exeeutive 
of that state in 1846. 

Mr. and Mrs. William Henry Langford immigrated to Arkan- 
sas in 1880. They originally came from Georgia, through the 
ehannel of a brief, sojourn in Alabama and Mississippi before 
coming to Arkansas. Mr. Langford was formerly a farmer and 
school teacher. Later he went into the mercantile business at 
Dublin, Logan Co., Arkansas. He now lives in Clarksville and is 
a magistrate. Mr. Langford's father was John Langford, who 
was the son of William Langford, who was the son of Richard 
Langford of Maryland, and who was a stone mason and was em- 
ployed in the construction of the eapitol building at Washington 
City. W. H. Langford, the suijject of this sketch, is a veteran of 
the Civil War from G:'orgia. Mrs. Langford was formerly Moffitt 
Alabama Livingston, the daughter of Wm. Aaron Livingston and 
Mary Ann Cooper Livingston. William Aaron Livingston was 
the son of Thomas Livingston. Mrs. Aaron Livinston was the 
daughter of Wm. Cooper, whose mother was also a Cooper, before 
she married. Mrs. Langford is a cousin to Congressman Liv- 
ingston of Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Langford's children 
are Cooper H. Langford, Johnnie (Mrs. James Harrison), and 
Eva May (Mrs. A. T. Grayson). Harry and Langford Keith of 
Roswell, New Mexico, are their grandchildren. Cooper H. Lang- 



194 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

ford and F211a Molloy Langford are the parents of three boys. 
Cooper Harold, who will this year receive a degree of Doctor of 
Philosophy from Harvard, and who has recently been elected dean 
of Educational Psychology for the 1922 Summer School of 
Harvard University. The younger boys are Albert H. and Jack 
Livingston. Harry Keith is one of the 451 graduates of the Naval 
Academy at Anapolis, June, 1922. 

On SeptcmlDer 30, 1879, G. W. and Mary Ann Kraus from 
Pennsylvania, landed in Johnson County, Arkansas, to find a new 
liome. Their family consisted of six boys and one daughter, 
Charley, Sam, Frank, Wilsc, Ed, El and Sarah. The Kraus boys 
were farmers, carpenters and constructors. Many buildings 
stand today as monuments of the ingenuity ofthese men, especial- 
ly Ed and El, who made their homes in Clarksville. Mrs. Ed 
Kraus. nee Gwinnie Evans, was a woman who administered many 
acts of charity. Far and wide about the town she visited the sick 
and neetly — never empty handed. Their children are Allie and 
Gomer, who today, with their families live in Clarksville. El 
Kraus married Cora Flemming, an orphan girl who resided in the 
home of her uncle, C. White. Their children were seven big, 
husky boys, football and baseball players. They are all residing 
hi Clarksville. Mr. Kraus died a year ago. 

Felix Bone was the husband of Mrs. Augusta Howell Bone 
who outlived him many years. They were the parents of Hugh, 
Howell, Lucy (Mrs. Hugh Miller), Lulu (Mrs. A. N. Ragon de- 
ceased), and Linnie (Mrs. Carl Arrington). Mrs. Bone was a 
niece of the late Aribelle Turner of Lamar, who was a daughter 
of Josiah Perry, and who lived to be almost a century old. 

Alman M. Sharyer was the senior member of a family who 
came to Knoxville, Johnson County, in 1880. He was a son of 
William and Johanna Langston Sharyer. Mrs, A. M. Sharyer 
was Lucy Ann Martin, a daughter of Joseph and Jane Thurman 
Martin, who resided at Atlanta, Georgia. The children of this 
family are W. Joseph, Samuel C, Anna (Mrs. James Lewis) 
and Lucy, all of Clarksville, and T. W. and Alice (Mrs. J. A. 
Foster) of Paris. IJie father was born in Raburn County, Ga. 
and from that marble and granite district of the old cracker state 
they came on to Arkansas. In Paris and Clarksville tliey have 
chiseled from that admant stone many beautiful monuments 
A. M. Sharyer was a Confederate soldier. He entered at the be- 



BIOGRAPHIES 195 

gimiiiiif of the war and was in active service all the way throui^h. 
He was in the hattle of Bull Run and other fierce eni»agements. 
Mr. Sharyer was a man of easy manners and had many friends. 
Joe Sharyer has been a Justice of the Peace in Clarksville for 
many years. The children of S. C. and Flora \Vilson Sharyer 
are Wilson and Lucy Lorene. 

In 1874, H. W. Love, who was born in Lee County, Va., in 
1841, and Mrs. Love, who was Elizabeth Miller of Tazwell, Tenn., 
came from Tennessee to Johnson County and purchased property 
west of Clarksville. Their children numbered ten, five boys and 
five girls. Ewell Love was Sheriff of Johnson County during 
the two terms from 1910 to 1914. Guy and Claude Love of 
Clarksville and Dr. J. G. Love of Hartman, successful men 
of affairs. 

Mrs. Catherine Sommers Stoudt and her family of three boys 
and two girls, came to Johnson County in 1873. The father of 
this family, Fredrick Stoudt, having died previously in Ft. Smith. 
Fredrick was born in Bavaria, Germany and came across to New^ 
Orleans in the year 1845, when he was twenty-seven years old. 
On the ship he met Catherine Sommers, also of Bavaria. They 
were married two years later, and resided for ten years in New 
Orleans, before moving to Ft. Smith. Their children were Fred- 
erick, John, Theodore, Christina and Catherine. Christina became 
Mrs. Andrew Clark, and Catherine, Mrs. Wight Armstrong. 
Frederick Stoudt has been a most efficient and dependable con- 
tractor and builder in Johnson county for a long number of yeiu's. 

SOME PERSOXS WHO CAME BEFORE 1900. 

To trespass beyond the stipified year, a few persons, who 
liave been so much a part of the life of the county, must be men- 
tioned, else this story will fall short because of incompleteness. 

A Tennessee gentleman, M. A. Moore, was for thirty-five 
years a much respected citizen. Hon. J. W. Coffman, a reputable 
and conscientious lawyer; Dr. J. S. Kolb, who is a prac- 
titioner of wide repute; D. Ransom and sons, John, Alonzo 
Simon and Isaac; Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Allison and their family; 
the Williamsons and Perdues, who were near Shady Grove: 
the Farris families, too numerous to mention, are all prominent in 
their chosen vocations; Dr. and Mrs. T. D. Nichols, the parents of 
Albert, John, Arthur, Minnie (Mrs. Sam Laser), and Sue (Mrs. 



196 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 

Sharum) ; the McWilliams brothers, M. M. and Frank, are of the 
liappy Tipperary type. Mrs. M. M. McWilliams v/as a daughter 
of Albert Kemp of early days of Spatlra. Mrs. Joe Banasky, is a 
grand daughter of Albert Kemp; J. J. F'oster, with his interesting 
family, of which Newell (Mrs. J. W. Sallis) is a member; the 
Nicholas family, of which Prof. Hugh Nicholas was a member; 
O. C. Ludwig was a poet and writer, also a former Clerk of the 
United States Congress; W. M. Kavanaugh, late of Little Rock, 
resided in Clarksville in the eighties; the Pitts brothers, whose 
family was perhaps here in earlier days, are noteworthy citizens; 
the Griffin brothers, Lawrence and Frank, were west of Clarks- 
ville in the eighties. Lawrence was the father of Ethel, Henry, 
Pearl, Era, Jewell, Inez and Erma; the Haigwoods, of which 
family there arc several l^ranches, are all good citizens and prom- 
inent in church circles; the Ingram family, of which "Uncle" 
Billy was the senior member; Rev. J. A. Connelly, who was for 
long years a Presbyterian minister; the Lewis family of the 
northern ])art of the county; Fremont Stokes, an expert coal op- 
erator from Pennsylvania, and an influential citizen; J. A. 
Dowdy, a trustworthy gentleman and a brother of Andrew 
Dowdy, a leading member of the state Senate a few years back; 
the Bartlett family of which the present sheriff is a prominent de- 
scendant; the Boen brothers, who are i)erhaps successors of the 
])ionecr family. George Boen has bulit a number of appartment 
liouses in Clarksville; the late J. T. Arrington, an Ex-Confederate 
soldier, and principal of the former poj)ular durg store of Arring- 
ton & Sons; George Daniel, a good citizen and a veteran of the 
Civil War, and his family; Beaufort Riddell, who has done much 
to improve Clarksville, by erecting store buildings, residences, 
ct cetera; the Mak)no family of Coal Hill, who came back 
in the early eighties; the Morrow home is on Minnow Creek, 
J. W. Morrow is the senior member and is a prosperous farmer; 
the Matthews families of Minnow Creek, who have always bccji 
prominent; Isaac McCracken of Ozone, who was once back in the 
eighties. Chairman of the National Wheeler Party; the McCoy 
family of which Wm. and Jim of Clarksville are sons; S. G. Harris 
of Colony Mountain; A. M. McLane, building contractor, who is 
represented today by several sons and one daughter; the late Z. A. 
Woods, the founder and former manager of the Woods Manu- 
facturing Co., Ft. Smith, was for twenty years a resident of 



HIOGRAPHIKS 11)7 

Clarksvillc; the Hamilton brothers, .1. X. and \V. V. The latter 
was for loni> years in the Hardware business; the Movers came 
from Indiana; the Lemlev family, the Harmon family, and Jolm 
and Henry Hnneh, eami> dnrini* tliis pt ciod; Earl Johnson, a eoal 
operator and Harris Johnson a planter, eaeh of different families; 
Elbert Gilbert, the Champion Cotton Grower of the South, is a 
junior member of the \V. S. (lilbert family. In 1919 he i^rew 
100.") pounds of cotton on two acres of Johnson County land. 
Frank Penniui^ton, a son of H. D. Pennington, was the father of 
lien, of Coal Hill, and Corinne, of Toledo, Oregon; W. H. Robin- 
son, a son of Eittleberry Robinson, and Claude C. May, a son of 
Cai)t. J. W. May, were merchants of the eighties; Dr. L. A. Cook. 
a practitioner and Christian gentleman; the Gammill family, of 
whom Flaude and Lee, who won honors for the College of the 
Ozarks in the 1921 Inter-Collegiatc Debates, are members. 
\ conspicuous, ragged lu-rmit, a lawyer from New York City, 
and whose name was J. R. Mcintosh, lived and died in the country 
between Lamar and Clarksville during the last years of the 
])asl century. He was a man of erudition, and contributed valu- 
able compositions regularly to the New York Herald and other 
leading papers and magazines. His articles concerning Arkan- 
sas w^'re straightforward facts, sucli as any Arkansian wordd 
appreciate. He rebuffed those who would have been friemlly 
toward him, and intimately associated with no one. He was truly 
a recluse. Many more jiromincnt families of the County not 
heretofore mentioned are headed by tlie names of Chandler, 
Holmes, Rafter, Coyle, Rowe, Wether ton, R{)([uemore, Reese, 
Werschky, Davis, Shuh, Carter, Boren, Neal, Burt, Be<-ker. 
Kelley, Werner, Myers, Best, Dixon, Pyron, Eoff, Moore, Riley, 
Eubanks, Wright, Simmons, Ellis, Young, Ross, Herring, Temple, 
Vaught, Ellington, Jumper, Lingo, Hannah, Horner, Crami)ton, 
Greene, Harrison, McCord, Shirley, Quick, James, Morris, Bean. 
Warren, Westmoreland, Hervcy, Sneed, Jacobs, Harden, Frost, 
Frazier, Ferguson, Elliott, D()])bs, Clinton, Calahan, Campbell, 
Brock, Bridges, Overbey, Smith, Cagle, Caruthers, Gould, Free- 
man, Lollis, Smith, Douglas, Soard, Seideman, Cline, Bush, — and. 
so many more that this volume must close with a mental ])ano- 
rama of faces and names clamoring through ties of justice and as- 
sociation for record here, but neither time nor si)ace will permit, 
for the end must be reached. 



198 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



"The Vine-clad Cottage Down on Cherry Street" 

(Dedicated to Mrs. T. J. Kendrick) 

Around the corner of Cravens, from the Main Street way. 
Many a youth and maiden have gone on many a day 
Through the short way of Cravens, past the churcli near-by; 
Many a friend and friendless — there's a reason why. 
Have crossed over the street, to the welcome retreat 
Of a vine-clad cottage down on Cherry Street. 

That weather-worn cottage, of gray-brown hue. 
Covered with Ivy and Clematis too. 
That has stood well the test that vicessitude wears. 
And full six decades have passed, with the years 
Since that cottage first smiled, as a friend to greet — 
That vine-clad cottage down on Cherry Street. 

'Tis on the same spot where a hut once stood, 

A first settler's hut in the bi-amble and wood. 

Where wild turkeys flew, and wolves lonely howled. 

Where black bears romed, and Indians prowled — 

On that same spot, with soft tread of feet. 

As that vine-clad cottage down on Cherry Street. 

The years passed on, and that hut has gone. 

And the first settler too. has reached his bourn; 

And a cottage now stands, up ten steps high. 

Broad steps to the south and west, near-by, 

Where the twining tendrils are thached and replete — 

At that vine-clad cottage down on Cherry Street. 

Where a timid Mimosa is waving all the while 

O'er the blue Porget-me-nots. and the Lilies of the Nile, 

O'er the sweet Lanthanas. and Nasturtiums too. 

Blending with sunshine from their homeland, of Peru, 

And at night, a blooming Jasmine breathes out perfume sweet 

'Round that vine-clad cottage down on Cherry Street. 

There are Pansies for thought. Ferns for fascination, 
Goldenrods for caution, Geraniums for consolation, 
Heliotropes for devotion and the Myrtles for love. 
With a giant Caladium waving his ears above. 
To heai- the voice of the flowers, as they fragrance mete 
'Round that vine-clad cottage down on Cherry Street. 

There are roses many, and a twining- Columbine, 

There are Cannas, the Xokomis. and the flaming Brandywine, 

And giant Catalpas too, most a century old. 

But the greatest of all. in that garden to enfold. 

Is the spirit of a woman, 'mongst her flowers sweet — 

At that vine-clad cottage down on Cherry Street. 

Just the soul of a woman, much like you and me. 
Who has lived, and loved, and learned true charity; 
Her children have come, and grown, and are gone, 
And some of them died in life's early morn; 
But friends by the score, she lives now to greet — 
At her vine-clad cottage down on Cherry Street. 

Her caste knows no peer; her influence lives; 

Her right han.d is greeting, while her left one gives; 

And not one of the lowly has she ever turned down; 

Generosity is her passion — star of her crown. 

As she reigns in the realm of her arborough retreat — 

At her vine-clad cottage, down on Cherry Street. 



Arkc 



:ansas 

ORIGIN AND PRONUNCIATION 

By DALLAS T. HERXDOX, 
Secretary Arkansas History Commission 

Facts which are the result of research of the best authorities 
of the country. 

The name Arkansas is clearly of Indian origin. Nor is there 
longer any doubt as to its meaning. As used by the Indians 
themselves it meant the "down-stream people." 

M Tlie Indian tribe, which DeSoto, the Spanish explorer, in 
1541, LaSalle, the Frenchman, in 1682, and other French ex- 
plorers, at later dates, met with in the region now known as 
Arkansas, called themselves Quapaws. These Quapaws were 
part — or a tribe — of the great Sioux family, one of the several 
great branches of North American Indians. 

The abode of the Qupaws originally, or at all events as 
long ago as there is any tradition of them, was north of the Ohio 
river, perhaps near where the Ohio empties into the Mississippi. 
In that vicinity they were part of a federation of tribes, the other 
members of said federation being the Kansa, Omaha Osage, and 
Ponca tribes; all of whom were kindred tribes, of the great 
Sioux- family. 

Sometime prior to the coming of DeSoto (1541) and his 
followers among them — how long can only be surmised — the 
Quapaw tribe migrated down the Mississippi river, crossed that 
river and took its abode along what is now the Arkansas river. 
Thereafter, and by reason of that migration down the Mississippi, 
the Quapaws came to be called, by their kinsmen and once con- 
federates — the Kansa, Omahas, Osages and Poncas — the U-gakh- 
pa; which word, in the Siouan language, meant "down stream 
people." 

The word U-gakh-pa was written by the early explorers — 
euphonically — in a number of ways. Marquette (1673) wrote 
it "Arkansa"; LaSalle (1680), Acousa; Penicant (1700, Arkansas; 
Gen'l. Z. M. Pike, American exi)lorer of the southwest (1811) 
Arkansas. All these explorers heard the word spoken by the 
Quapaw or Arkansas and wrote down as best they could, doubt- 
less, what they heard. Again, in 1819, when Arkansas was 
formed a Territory by act of Congress, the name of the new Ter- 



200 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



ritory so formed appears in the Congressional act of creation a 
number of times. There it is invariably spelled Arkansas — the 
natural English spelling of the word. 

The fact is that the final letter "s" in the name Arkansas is 
incorrectly added, was added originally, no doubt, by certain early 
writers to denote the plural. The evidence all goes to show that 
the only correct pronunciation is as if the name were spelled 
Ar-kan-sa, with accent on the first and last syllables. The "a" 
in the first syllnble should be sounded like "a" in "arm"; in the 
lust, as "a" in "law". 




JOHXSOX COUNTY 




ARKANSAS FLAG 
The National colors are used: red, white and blue. On th(> 
rectangler field of red is a large white diamond with a blue 
border. Arkansas contains the only diamond mine within the 
possessions of the United States, and should be called the 
"Diamond State." The three blue stars signify the three nations 
to which Arkansas has belonged: Spain, France and the United 
Slates; the three stars, as a second motive, typify that Arkansas 
was tiie third state plotted from the Louisiana Purchase; and 
also l!je three stars, as a third reason, indicate the three years over 
the century, when the Louisiana Purchase was made in 1803. 
Arkansas and Michigan were the two states admitted into the 
Union together, and that fact is indicated by the pair of stars on 
the lower angle of the band. The twenty-five stars around the 
border signify that Arkansas was the twenty-fifth state to be ad- 
mitted to the Union. 

MANNER OF SELECTING FLAG 
The idea of selecting and adopting an official flag for the 
state of Arkansas originated in the Pine Rluff Chapter of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution, in 1912. A committee 
appointed from the Chapter took the matter up with the next 
general assembly. A sub-committee from the committee ap- 
pointed by the assembly, searched the records to ascertain if 
there had ever been an official flag. Nothing was found. Ar- 
ticles were published in leading newspapers requesting artists to 
submit designs, with the name of the artist enclosed in an ac- 
companying sealed envelope. The committee to select one from 
the designs submitted, consisted of seven members, of which 
Hon. E. W. Hodges, Secretary of State was the chairman. A 
unanimous vote selected the flag here given. It was drawn and 
submitted by Miss Willie K. Hooker of Pine Rluff. In February 
of 1913, the legislature of Arkansas adopted this design as the 
official flag. 



202 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 




T. J. KENDRICK RESIDENCE 
Tho Vine-Clad Cottage, Down on Cherry Street. 



'W> ' IJf 



■' '' / 





THE PICNIC GROUNDS AT COAL, HILL 
AS THEY CELEBRATED IN' THE PAST CENTURY 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



2():v 




MAIX BriLPIXG. COLLEGE OF THE OZARKS 




JOHXSOX COL'NTY COLMIT HOL'SE 
(Built in 187.-. — as it is today) 



204 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 




BL'1L,T 189; 




CLARKSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



205 




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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 




FnisT pui-:.sBV'ri;iiiAx chtilch 






OLD PRESBYTKIIIAX CHURCH— 1850 
(Remodeled, i;t04) 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



207 





I'll'.ST M10TH()1)1ST ("Hl'RCH 




OLD .MKTHUDIST CHrilCH — 1870 



208 



HISTORY OP^ JOHNSON COUNTY 




CENTER s;<:rTr()x of fultox st., west side '>.•' siji;aiii'". 

(DESTROYED BY FIRE FEB. L'9. 1^112) 




wiosT s;u:-: of sqi'ake— i;tji 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 



209 




R. H. McKEXXON'S RESIDBXCE 




A SUMMER HOME IX THE OZARKS 



210 



HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY 




ERRATA. 

Page 45 — *s<one buildings, should read store buildings. 

Page 112 — AValker Laster, should read, Alvin Laser. Walker 
Laster is an operator in the bituminous f'cld. 

Pag-e 143 — Mrs. F. S. Poynor, should read, Mrs. F. Q. Poynor 
Page 161 — *the pioneers were Lsaae and Rachel, should read 

John and Rachel. 
Page 165 — Sam Johnson, should read, Louis Johnson. 

Page 197 — *of different families, should read. Earl Johnson, 
a coal operator, and Harris Johnson, a planter, 
the father of the former. 

Page 135 — Mervin Russell of Ozone had been a soldier in the 
regular army for two years at Jefferson Barracks, before 
war was declared. He served in France several months, 
and at the close of the war was sent back to camp in South 
Carolina, where he became a victim of meningitis, and died. 

Chapter II should read, Part II. 

The manuscript containing the list of Confederate 
Veterans, who constitute the John F. Hill Chapter of 
Johnson County, was lost and through an oversight was not 
given place in this volume, hence they are listed here: 

ROLL OF 1921. 

McConnell, E. T, Commander Langford, W. H.. Adjutant 
Jett, W. S. 1st Lieutenant McAfee, W. H.. Chaplain 

Ogden, A. B., 2nd Lieutenant Miller, A. C, Color Bearer 
Garrett, S. H., 3rd Lieutenant 

Adams, J. R. Hamlin, J. C. Pratt, J. N. 

Adkins, T. M. Holland, Howard Quick, J. J. 

Adkins, Ezra Hughes, J. V. Reed, John 

Armstrong, Jno. Hunt, Mose Reynolds, Ed 

Bufford. I. Lemley, W. E. Rogers, R. A. 

Bush, W. J. Lewis, J. W. Robinson, J. W. 

Coffee, J. G. Morgan, H. P. Sawrie, R B 

Crowley, W. M. Moad, J. G. Shurley, W. E. 

Crowley, J. S'. Newton, J. L. Smith, G. G. 

Dickerson, W. C. Newton, Wilson Stegall, J. G. 

Dixon, S. A. Pearson, Tom Stewart, L. F. 

Farmer, T. J. Porter, H. W. Thompson, N. S. 

Garrett, George Poteet, W. H. Taylor, J. J. 

Gray, R. W. Pitts, L. W. Williams, L. W. 

Hamilton, W. P. Pyron, T T. Wood, J. R. 



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